
Class ^_£L^S1 

Book > O^ 

GopyiiglitN?_ 



GQBfKIGHT DEPOSIT. 



OUTDOOR 
OPPORTUNITIES 



The Raising and Care of Small 
Animals, Birds and Plants 




Published by 

OUTDOOR ENTERPRISE PUBLISHING COMPANY 
Kansas City. Missouri 







OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES ^^ 

The Raising and Care of Small Animals, 
Birds and Plants 



A Practical Treatise on the Raising and 

Care of Small Animals, Birds and 

Plants for Profit and Pleasure 



120 ILLUSTRATIONS 



PUBLISHED BY 

OUTDOOR ENTERPRISE PUBLISHING CO. 

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI 

ropyright by Edw. H. Stahl, 1922 



0« 



JAN -2 1923 

CU690886 



I 

1>_ FOREWORD 

Realizing the importance of placing in the hands of the 
people a book that is adaptable to individual requirements for 
^ an occupation deriving pleasure and profit at the same time 
/y and thus meeting a big general demand — is the aim of 

0) OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

a book dedicated to the vast army of Opportu7iity Seekers. 

Ever since the dawn of history the great outdoors has 
offered the best that is in the way of satisfying the yearnings 
of the Ovportiinist. The determination of the Opportunity 
Seeker at first to capitalize his project with brains and energy 
rather than money have been the chief assets of success. With 
this in mind, the publishers of Outdoor Opportunities secured 
some of the most learned authorities to treat upon the various 
subjects herein. In all instances, the Opportunity Seeker will 
be surprised to learn of the little outlay of money which is nec- 
essary to start him on the way to build a successful industrial 
career, starting in spare time and building up until it will 
mean the full-time service of himself and others. 

Opportunity is the corner stone upon which great indus- 
tries are built. Every man, woman, boy and girl seek the 
great outlet of opportunity to work up to a successful career. 
The purpose of Outdoor Opportunities is to satisfy those 
longings of ambition because everybody is interested in some 
kind of animal, Mrd or plant, in an occupation which is fol- 
lowed in the great outdoors, combined with the principle of 
iwofit, as well as being assured of health and happiness, which 
are of inestimable value. Outdoor Opportunities will mean 
the crowning achievement of hundreds of Opportunity Seekers. 

Should any reader want additional information upon any 
of the subjects treated in this book, he may write to us, and 
we will advise him thereon, as our services are at your com- 
mand. 

The publishers wish to express their great appreciation 
of the assistance of the writers and those who helped in the 
illustrations of this work. 

Successfully yours, 
OiTDooR Enterprise Pubt/shixg Company. 

Edw. H. Stahl ) ^ 

Jas. Bunt \ Compilers. 

July, 1922. 



EDITORS OF SMALL-STOCK MAGAZINES 





JAS. BUNT 

Managing Editor Outdoor 

Enterprises 



W. H. BLAIR 
Editor "Rabbitcraff 




EDW. H. STAHL 

Editor Outdoor Enterprises 





JOHN C. FBHR 
Editor Pet Stock Journal 



FRANK H. HOT.I.MAN 

l<]ditor American Pigeon Journal 



PROMINENT MEN OF THE SMALL-STOCK 

INDUSTRY 





LEWIS H. SALISBURY 



RAYMOND L. PIKE 




I. AV. TAYLOR 





ALLAN r. SMITH 



V. REED STORMS 



CONTENTS 



Page 

1. The Rabbit Industry 9 

2. The Cavy Industry 100 

3. The Milk Goat Industry Ill 

4. The Fur Farming Industry 124 

5. The Fox Industry 146 

6. The Ferret Industry 153 

7. Rats and Mice 158 

8 The Dog 167 

9. Raising and Care of Cats 180 

10. The Pigeon Industry 189 

1 1. The Pheasant Industry 201 

12. Care and Management of Bantams 215 

13. The Canary 220 

14. Malting Money with Bees 226 

15. The Frog Farmer 232 

16. Mushroom Growing 236 

17. History of Ginseng 241 

18. Golden Seal 217 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

Pase 
EDITORS OF SMALL, STOCK MAGAZINES 

James Bunt, W. H. Blair, Edw. H. StahL John C. Fehr and 

Frank H. Hollman 4 

PROMINENT MEN OF THE SMALL STOCK INDUSTRY 
Lewis H. Salisbury, Raymond L. Pike, I. W. Taylor, Allan 

C. Smith, V. Reed Storms 5 

THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 

Hutches 10. 13. 14. 43 

Feed Crock and Rack 18 

Flemish Giant Buck 20 

New Zealand Buck 23 

Exhibiting- Dressed Rabbits and Furs 25 

Belgian Hare ■ 31 

Flemish Giants 36 

New Zealand Doe 41 

White Giants 47, 88 

Shipping Crate 48 

Finished Rabbit Skins 49 

Fur Stretcher 51 

Exhibitions : 54 

Dressed Rabbits 55 

W. K. Carter, White New Zealands 58 

Belgian Farm Rabbit 5!) 

Checkered Giant 60 

Dutch 63. 65. 66 

Black and Tan 69 

Blue Imperial "^O 

American Blue 71 

Angoras 74 

White Polish 79 

Rabbit and Dumplings 82 

Chinchillas • 85' 87 

Kudzu 90 

THE CAVY INDUSTRY 

Edwin F. Deicke 101 

Outline of Cavy 102 

Hutches 103 

A Trained Cavy 105 

Shipping Crate 106 

Cavy Specimens 104, 107. ION. 109. 110 



ILLUSTRATIONS— Continued 



THE GOAT INDUSTRY 

Saanen Doe 112 

Mang-er 114 

Nubian Bucks 115, 117 

Nubian Doe 118 

Goat and Attendant 120 

Saanen Buck 122 

FUR FARMING INDUSTRY 

Skunk 126 

Fox 127 

Mink 128 

Muskrat 129 

Otter 131 

Fox Skins 135 

Ermine 139 

THE FOX INDUSTRY 

F. C. Kaye 147 

Silver Fox 149 

Tamed Fox 151 

MISCELLANEOUS 

Rats and Mice 159, 161, 164 

Dog-s 168, 170, 172, 174, 176, 178 

Cats 181, 183, 185, 186, 187 

Pig-eons and Housing 190, 191, 192, 194, 196, 198 

Pheasants 202, 204, 206, 208, 210, 211, 212, 213, 214 

Bantams 216, 218 

Canaries 221, 223 

Bees — Autlioi , William Ande. son 227. 229 

Frogs 223, 234 

Mushrooms 237, 239, 240 

Ginseng 242. 244 



THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 9 

THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 

Food — Fur — Fancy 

THE experimental stage, th€ "kid" stage, of the rabbit 
industry has passed. 

We now have to deal with a real busin-ess of the 
production of food; food of the most nutritious and valuable 
kind and among the cheapest to produce of any. 

Lest some should still look upon the rabbit Industry 
with a view of its past days of experiment and "boom" times, 
we draw resp-ectful attention to the fact that there are in 
the United States alone over 50,000 persons engaged in it. 
with plants and equipment and live stock valued at over 
$25,000,000. Thus it will be seen to be no small industry, 
when its valu-e and backers are considered. 

Can Begin With Small Capital 

"What possibilities are here! In no other business is 
there so much opportunity for the person of small capital to 
begin and make a real showing. 

This business of the breeding of rabbits has now be- 
come th'e national business of the American people, and will 
be found to pay in just the proportions that we put time and 
effort and thought into it. To do this intelligently requires 
that we start correctly. Hence the great demand for a work 
of this kind, a work beginning at the natural starting point 
of the industry and continuing to its logical -end. 

In other words, to start with the housing of the stock 
and to continue the instruction to the sale of the hide of the 
rabbit. 

Between the extreme.s of "just a few for the table" and 
a large rabbitry "for commercial gain" you may find your 
place and in this book find your complete instruction. Your 
success from here forward will depend on YOU. 



10 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

HOUSING 
For Fancy and Breeding Stock 

It would se-em to be obvious that the first thing to do on 
starting into the rabbit business, either for pleasure or profit, 
would be to fix a place to put the rabbits. But it oftentimes 
happens that Uncle John or Aunt Sarah gives Tommy a rab- 
bit or two and there is no place for the bunnies. 

What is th'e right course? 

Construction of House 

In the first place, the three main enemies of rabbits are 
DRAFT, DAMP and DOG-S. These we must guard against. 




— Courtesy of Charles Humfeld 

A MODEL RABBIT HUTCH 

To eliminate the drafts we will make the back and the 
two ends of our rabbit hou&e walls of good construction to 
keep out wind. A cheap way to do this is to use a good 
roofing, or to cover a board wall with building paper and then 
shingle it. 

Preferably the rabbit hutches should open to the south 
or east and the other three sides be built solidly. Where 
a stout fence or brick wall is available to build against, 
this is comparatively easy. 



THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 11 

To keep out damp we will roof the building securely, as 
well as the thre-e sides, leaving a space of not less than four 
inches and preferably six inches, between the hutch walls 
and the walls of our building clear around. For this reason, 
the movable or portable type hutches, built in groups or sec- 
tions. 

As a rul'e these are built in sections of six, three long and 
three high, each hutch being 30x30 inches square on the floor 
and 18 inches high from floor to ceiling in each hutch. 
There is then a sliding partition built between each two of 
the group on a floor giving a hutch 30x60 inches when the 
partition is out, which is the prop-er size for a doe with a 
litter, or a larger type of rabbit, such as the Flemish or 
Checkered Giants. 

The bottom tier of the three rows of hutches will be 
about eight or ten inches from the floor of th*e shed or rab- 
bit-house. 

The door on the front of each hutch must be the full 
length and full height of that hutch. Some favor one door 
for the full height of the entire thre-e tiers or rows of hutches, 
which is a very good method also, and saves some time in 
the feeding period. 

The door frame should be made of 1x2 common pine, th'e 
screen being held on the inside of the door with strips of 
lath nailed clear around to conceal the raw edge of the screen. 
Lath may also be used to put across the corners and brace 
the doors with. 

Little hay-racks should be constructed against the walls 
of each hutch, eith*er accessible through a hole in the screen 
of the door to put the hay in, or open on one end so that the 
hay may be thrust in after the door is open. 

The grain and water should be fed in heavy crocks. A 
very good type of feed or water crock is handled by most rab- 
bit supply houses. 

Nest Boxes 

Besides the water and feed crocks and the hay racks 
used to equip th-e hutches, you will need a number of boxes 
for nest boxes, to be used as in the manner described in the 
section on Breeding. 



12 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

These boxes maj^ be ordinary grocer boxes, m-easuriiig 
about ten inches high, about twelve inches wide and about 
sixteen or eighteen inches long. It will be noted that we 
say about so many inches in most of the measurements given 
in this work. There is no exact rule. What we wish to do 
is to help th-e rabbit breeder work out a system of rabbit- 
keeping that shall be adaptable to the breeder's particular 
environment and circumstances. The important thing is not 
the exact number of inches that each object shall measure, 
but the comfort and health of the rabbit and the convenience 
of the owner in their care. 

The nest box, then, conforming as nearly as may be to 
the given measurements, or a little larger for the Flemish 
Giants and large breeds, should have the lid cleated into one 
piece and hinged on at what shall be the back end. The 
front or entry end will have a hole cut so that half the hole 
is cut from the end of the lid of the box and half of the hole 
from the end of the box. The hole should be about six inches 
in diam'eter and rather round in shape. 

The hutches and the nest boxes should all be painted 
inside and out, both as a preservative and to keep germs 
from lodging so freely in them. Besides it gives a finished 
and business-like appearance to the rabbitry. 

White or a very light color should be used inside the 
liutches and grey or olive gre-en or some other neutral color 
for the outside of the hutches. This will set off the stock 
to better display advantage and help sell it. 

These hutches, built in sections of three long and three 
hutch high, as outlined, may be used in old sheds, if it is 
not convenient to build new. Such old buildings or sheds 
must be thoroughly cleaned out and made damp and draft- 
proof, before setting up a rabbitry in them. 

As for dogs, be sure that your fences or outside sheds 
and walls are sound, for a big dog will do some remarkable 
stunts in his efforts to get at a rabbit or her young. Dogs 
have been known to stalk about a rabbitry for we'eks, watch- 
ing the chance to get in, at last succeeding, to the destruc- 
tion of a fine line of stock. 

Build as many hutches at a time as you think you will 
need for the stock you get and their offspring for three or 
four months to come. Figure one hutch to each mature ani- 



THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 



13 



mal and one hutch for each litter for the next three months, 
that you may expect to raise, aft-er learning from this book 
about what to expect. 

Open Pen System for Commercial Stock 

For those who desire to operate entirely upon a meat or 
market basis, and who do not desire to keep the exact track 
of th'eir stock that would be required on a pedigreed-stock 
basis we will show in this section a range, or pen-system of 
keeping rabbits. 

Select a piece of ground with a slight slope, preferably 
shaded by trees or a building to some extent. Have it sloping 
to the south if possible. Lay out a space about fifty feet in 
length and twenty feet wide on this ground. 




-(^curtesy of W. J E. WUliams 

PORTABLE HUTCHES — BUILT-IN NEST BOXES IN REAR 



Around the border line of the ground dig a narrow trench 
twelve inches deep and set in two boards temporarily to 
make a concrete form four inches wide and extending three 
inches or more above ground. Run such a trench and con- 
crete across one end of the space about twelve feet from the 
end. 

You now have a space twelve by twenty feet and another 
space thirty-eight by twenty feet. Build the little concrete 
walls all around and across, of about six to one mixture, that 
is, six parts sand to one part cement, and mixed with water 
to a fairly thin consistency. 

After you have set your forms you can set the posts that 
are to carry the rabbit wire, a one-inch mesh wire made for 



14 



OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 



the purpose. These posts may be set right in the forms at 
the corners and then each six feet apart all around and 
across the dividing line. Spaces should be left for two gates, 
one into the large space and one into the small space. 

Pieces of galvanized wire must be left sticking up out of 
the concrete each foot or so, to fasten down the rabbit wire 
to the wall between posts. Pieces of wire two feet long bent 
U shape with the -ends sticking up, will do. 

The small space has been left on the north end of the 
patch, if possible, and a shed with back and end walls tight 
will be built clear across the end of the space, twenty feet in 
length. This shed will be only about four feet high and six 



BACK^i 




A PORTABLE HUTCH DESIGN, SHOWING SIDE 
AND END VIEWS 



feet wide. The back side of it will be about two and a half 
feet high, thus giving a good pitch to the roof. This roof 
is hinged on in sections so that it may be raised in filling 
the grain and hay hoppers beneath. These grain and hay 
hoppers occupy ten feet of the length of the shed, three feet 
for grain and seven feet for hay, the other ten feet of the 
shed's length being occupied by rows of stalls or boxes, 
built-in. 



THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 15 

Thus you will have provided a place tor hay, in the 
hoppers with the screen fronts, for grain in the three-foot 
hoppers with the solid front and the narrow trough at the 
bottom, and for a sleeping room. 

As for water, it may be provided in whatever convenient 
hopper or running water trough form may be most readily 
devised, avoiding freezing in winter, if possible. 

The cross-fence, dividing the large space from the small, 
should be provided with two small apertures, just large 
enough for the rabbit to run through. These two gates 
should be managed by a lever from the outside of the pen. 

The purpose of these gates is to have the rabbits in the 
small pen at feeding time, so that those desirable for butch- 
ering for market may be readily caught. 

FEEDING 
General Rabbit Feeding 

At this point we will take up the general feeding of the 
rabbit and the main principles by which one may be guided. 
Feeding for size, color or any special effect will be taken 
up under the name of the breed for which such special feed- 
ing is desirable. 

The rabbit is naturally a herbivorous or vegetarian ani- 
mal. It is this fact that makes it so desirable for food, and 
more nutritious than any other kind of meat. The chicken, 
by comparison, is a natural scavenger, eating all manner of 
dirty food, including decayed meats, etc. The hog also fol- 
lows this line of eating, hence we find only the bovine ani- 
mals, such as the cow, sheep and deer that will bear any 
comparison to the fine white meat of the rabbit, and NONE 
of these can show such beauty of meat or such a large 
weight of meat compared to bone in the dressed animal. 

Practically all vegetables are food to the rabbit, much of 
the parings and waste from the kitchen making a very de- 
sirable addition to bunny's very economical plan of eating. 
There are a few things, though, that are better left out, and to 
the young rabbit frequently prove dangerous. Among these 
are potato parings, which act as a violent physic on the intes- 
tines of the rabbit, causing scours and acute indigestion, gen- 
erally resulting in death. Parings that are rotted or badly 
wilted are t99 Ipw a gr.^rle of food, too, for the cleanly little 



16 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

animal. See that all the food your rabbits get is as fresh 
and clean as you would want for yourself and you will have 
no trouble. Avoid dusty and musty hay, rotted cabbage or 
other vegetable and all uncleanness in the food of your rab- 
bits. 

The general feed of a rabbit, with such special feedings 
and changes as will be noted in the sections of special breeds 
and special effects to be attained (as noted later) are prin- 
cipally rolled barley, alfalfa, carrots, chicory and water. 

Where rolled barley cannot be obtained, a mixture of 
rolled oats and bran, equal parts, make a good substitute, or 
cracked wheat and bran, equal parts, may be used. Corn 
should be avoided, except in cold weather or extreme North- 
ern states. Corn is too heating for rabbits as a rule, and 
results in skin and abscess trouble in the summer or warm 
weather. 

Where alfalfa cannot be obtained, a good substitute will 
be found in clover and timothy, equal parts mixed; or in 
wheat or rice straw and clover, equal parts. Oat hay, if well 
cured, may be mixed with clover to good advantage, about 
equal parts. 

Other roots besides carrots may be fed, but sparingly, as 
too heavy feeding in roots may result in pot-belly. Roots 
should not be fed over twice or three times a week. Other 
roots besides carrots that are suitable to rabbits are prin- 
cipally radishes, turnips, beets, artichokes and sweet pota- 
toes. 

Vegetable greens, such as celery tops, lettuce, cabbage 
(sparingly), beet tops, carrot tops, radish tops, turnip tops, 
etc., may also be fed, but it must be borne in mind that these 
things are to be fed sparingly, especially for fancy stock 
where shape is an element of culture. Too much greens as 
above mentioned, or too often fed is frequently the cause of 
the misshaping of the abdomen, known as "pot-belly." 

We give here a list of the foods that may be used for 
rabbits, their value being indicated by their place in the 
list: 

ALFALFA. Used as roughness. Should be well cured 
and, if being fed for the first time to stock used to other 
hay, should be fed sparingly at first and mixed with the hay 
formerly used. Bear in mind that it is much easier to over- 



THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 17 

feed a rabbit than to under-feed one, as they are naturally 
adapted to very little at a time. A small handful twice a 
day to each mature rabbit, except as otherwise noted fur- 
ther on. 

ROLLED BARLEY. Used as a grain food and fattener. 
Should be fed once a day for general feeding, twice a day 
for fattening purposes. One to two ounces to each rabbit 
per feeding. Find out how much one ounce is in appearance 
and then get a small can, using that for a measure. Thus 
you can be regular in amount as well as time of feeding, 
which is one of the cardinal principles in rabbit rearing. 

CARROTS. Used as a root crop for digestion and keep- 
ing system generally in tone. Said to have some little influ- 
ence on color in the red and brown types of rabbit. Should 
be fed sparingly, generally a piece as large as your thumb 
for each mature rabbit, fed once a day in the evening. 

BRAN. Often used with equal parts of rolled oats, as 
a substitute for rolled barley. Fed same as rolled barley, 
whether mixed or not. 

ROLLED OATS.' Generally used mixed with bran. (See 
Bran.) 

WHEAT. Generally used crushed or rolled, fed mixed 
equal parts with bran or rolled oats. Fed same as rolled 
barley. 

OATS. Sometimes fed whole, but the hulls are a little 
dangerous to young stock, liable to give them the scours or 
acute diarrhoea. 

CELERY, LETTUCE, ROOT-TOPS, ETC. Fed once a day 
only and then just what they will clean up quickly, say 
twenty minutes, as you must not allow roots or green stuff 
lay about the hutches and rot. The younger stock sometimes 
eat this rotted food and stomach and bowel troubles are the 
immediate result. 

CABBAGE, BRUSSELS SPROUTS, CAULIFLOWER, 
ETC. A strong food for young stock, tending sometimes to 
looseness. All right for mature stock, but always remember 
about feeding green stuff sparingly as outlined above, and 
once a day only. 

ALL OTHER FOODS try out slowly and carefully, feel- 
ing your way. Avoid sudden changes, 



18 



OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 



WEEDS. There are many weeds that make excellent 
food for rabbits, fed carefully as outlined for other greens 
above, such weeds numbering the dandelion, often used to 
correct liver and kidney troubles (see section on diseases), 
rag-weed, pig-weed, sour-dock, lamb's quarter, wild spinach, 
wild oats, and many others. We have given them common 
names used in the middle west for these weeds, as the scien- 
tific names would be of little use to any but regular botanists. 
Weeds should be tried out carefully, as outlined in the para- 
graph on all other foods, just above. 

The two cardinal principles of rabbit feeding are CLEAN- 
LINESS AND REGULARITY. Keep the grain and water 
crocks thoroughly CLEAN. Keep all foods off the hutch 
floors as much as possible, using crocks for grain and water. 




— Courtesy Western Stoneware Co. 

NON-TIP FEED AND WATER CROCK 

Use a small hay rack as shown below to keep the 
hay up and clean. Feed root crops in the grain dish as well 
as the green stuff. Dry, but not mouldy; dry bread is excel- 
lent for the rabbits occasionally, instead of grain. 




-Courtesy of M. Meek 
HAY RACK 



THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 19 

Always keep plenty of clean water before the rabbits, as 
they are warm blooded animals that sweat. Hence they 
MUST have water. It is rank and outrageous cruelty to 
deprive ANY warm blooded, sw^eating animal of water. Ask 
any veterinary or any doctor about it., Be sure to give water 
to your rabbits. 

BREEDING 

General Remarks 

Breeding for special purposes and particulars for each 
breed will be taken up under the headings of the breeds that 
may be referred to, when such instructions are deemed neces- 
sary. In this section we will only take up the general prin- 
ciples and breeding of rabbits in general. 

Health of the parent stock is the first consideration in 
rabbit breeding. A habit of constantly testing out your own 
stock before breeding them for general health, is a very good 
habit. If you are taking or sending your doe to some buck 
owned by another breeder, be sure to get a good report on 
the buck's health and see to it that your doe is in good 
health also. The question of health and the proper tests to 
be made are taken up in detail in the section on buying 
stock. 

Having ascertained the health of the stock to be bred, 
the next consideration is the pedigrees, if it is fancy stock 
you are about to breed. A great deal has been said pro and 
con about pedigrees, their use and their abuse, it is true 
that the pedigree has been much abused and many fakes have 
been promulgated on the strength of a pedigree not worth 
its paper, in order to obtain money for rabbits of otherwise 
doubtful value. But the fact remains that some sort of record 
of the parentage of an animal is absolutely necessary in 
order that we may see what we are doing, what strains we 
are crossing and what effects in color, weight, type or shape 
we may expect to get. 

If you are not where you can have confidence in the 
stock you are breeding to or with, if you cannot trust the 
pedigrees and the records, then you will have to simply 
build up a strain of your own keeping accurate and scien- 
tific records of your own on the subject. 



20 



OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 




THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 21 

The section on rabbitry records will be taken up in de- 
tail, the matter of pedigrees, forms and manner of record- 
ing and registration. 

Having ascertained that the parentage of the rabbits 
you propose to breed is what you want for points and pedi- 
gree you will now take the doe to the buck's hutch. She is 
a stranger to his hutch, which will tend to prevent her from 
fighting and he, being at home, has a tendency to greater 
boldness. If the doe will take the buck at all she will do so 
in the first five minutes. In that event you will see the 
action, which will be almost instantaneous. Immediately re- 
move the doe, after one serving, setting her on a little table 
or shelf you have built handy for exhibiting your stock. This 
table or shelf, about twenty by twenty inches each way, is 
covered tightly with carpet or burlap sacking. Stroke the 
doe down a little and get her calm again, then replace her 
for a second serving to make sure. Now replace her in her 
hutch, marking her card as instructed in the section on rab- 
bitry records. In exactly thirty-one days she will drop her 
litter, if normal conditions prevail. 

Watch and feed her carefully and if s'he is a fancy rab- 
bit commence adding a little milk to her drinking water on 
the twenty-second day after breeding. Start out with about 
a tablespoonful to the cup of water, increasing until you have 
about two-thirds milk in her water crock, each morning. 
This will tend to make her babies fat and healthy and keep 
her in fine health and fur. 

On the twenty-fourth day after breeding put a nest box 
in her hutch, which you have half filled with clean straw 
or prairie hay. This nest box you have painted inside and 
out, and dried thoroughly, if you have had it in previous use. 
You should have at least half as many nest boxes as you 
have hutches and keep them always painted up and ready 
for emergencies, painting and setting aside each one as you 
get through with it. 

Do not disturb or move the nest box after you have 
placed it in position, and if it is necessary to clean out the 
hutch do so without touching the box. Place the nest box so 
that the entrance of it is away from the light. Mrs. Bunny 



22 OUTDOOR OPPORTtlNITlJii^ 

likes to think that her babies are a great secret and she re- 
sents any knowledge of the event on your part. 

Two days after the babies have come, or should have 
come, according to your records, take the doe carefully out 
of her hutch and place her where she cannot observe" your 
operations. Now put on an old pair of gloves and stroke 
the stomach of the doe a little to get the scent of her on 
the gloves. Remove the nest box to the nearest convenient 
place to the hutch, so you can raise the hinged lid of the 
nest box and examine the young. Count them quickly. Re- 
move any dead ones and all the smallest ones, above the 
number eight in the Belgian hare doe, where size is not the 
prime object; and all above the number four in the Flem- 
ish Giant where size IS an object. You may give these 
young to a nurse doe, if they are desirable stock, as pointed 
out in this section a little later. Replace the nest box 
carefully and set down the number of young the doe pro- 
duced that litter, on her card, on the buck's card and on 
your charts, if you are running your rabbitry the modern 
way. 

When the young are one month old and you see that they 
do not need the nest box any more, take it out, substituting 
a pile of clean straw in one corner of the hutch. The 
youngsters will be healthier than in the nest box, from 
then on. For this reason it is better to have the removable 
nest box, rather than the built-in type. The removable one 
is also easier to keep clean and sanitary, being painted and 
renovated after each litter. 

If you have the room, you can now pull out the parti- 
tion between the mother doe's hutch and the next, giving the 
mother and young a double hutch, making healthier stock. 
Leave the bottom board in the partition so that they will 
have a hurdle to jump over for exercise. 

BUYING 

General Remarks 

There are some general facts about the buying of stock 
that will apply to all breeds of rabbits. The particular facts 
and points relating to the buying of particular breeds will 
be found in the sections relating to those breeds. 



THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 23 

In the first place there is absolutely no value to be 
placed on the buying of a sick rabbit. Health is the first 
and primary consideration and no rabbit is a bargain at 
any price that has ANY disease or illness, however slight. 

In examining a rabbit for health, first look carefully at 
the fur. In health the fur is smooth and clear in appearance, 
the hair having a natural glossy appearance and laying fairly 
smooth. Even in a rough haired Angora rabbit the fur will 
have a soft smooth feel to it. 

Next look squarely and carefully into the eye of the ani- 
mal. The eye should be clear and bright and in the smaller 
breeds should have a snap and fire to it. especially the Bel- 
gian Hare. The eye of the larger breeds, as in the Flemish 



—Courtesy of G. N. McCoy 

"RED PEPPER." A SPLENDID NEW ZEALAND RED BUCK 

Giant and the New Zealand Red rabbit, is liable to a more 
lazy easy-going, less excitable appearance. In any rabbit, 
however, the coloring matter of the eye, whether blue, black, 
brown or pink (in the Polish and similar breeds) will be 
clear and liquid with a perceptible depth to it, in the healthy 
specimen. In the sick rabbit the coloring matter of the eye 
takes on a dead or opaque appearance. Watch the eye care- 
fully, therefore, in picking out stock. 

Running or mattery eyes are especially to be watched for, 
as indicaljjig ,a cj>Id or snuffles. 



24 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

Next, look into the ears. They should be clear and pink 
down in the base inside. Do not buy rabbits with scabby 
ears, no matter how confident the seller is in assuring you 
that "that's nothing. You can fix it up in two days." Maybe 
so, but you don't want to BUY trouble at any price. Time 
enough to FIX it if it breaks out in your own hutches. 

Next put the rabbit up on your shoulder with your ear 
against its ribs. Stroke its back vigorously while in that 
position and listen for a rattle or a rasp in its breeding. 
Any trouble in the breathing of the rabbit is especially to be 
avoided, as indicating the presence of cold or snuffles. 

If the rabbit passes these tests without any apparent 
disease, turn your attention to the rabbit's surroundings. 
Are the surrounding hutches and rabbitry clean and health- 
ful in both smell and appearance? Are the OTHER rabbits 
apparently free from diseases and sneezing of any kind? 

The two or three fatal diseases of rabbits are contagious 
to other rabbits. Do NOT buy ANY stock where the other 
stock is diseased, for you cannot tell what infection has 
already taken place. You may be buying more than your 
money's worth in trouble by carrying home infections that 
will wipe out some of your own fine and healthy stock. 

If you are buying pedigreed stock try to see that each 
one is recorded in the regular registry or national system of 
registration. While many fakes have been practiced and are 
practiced in the pedigreeing of stock undeserving of it, your 
chances of getting a good specimen are much increased where 
an official national registrar' has passed on the animal. It 
gives you all the chance there is, anyway, and is well worth 
the small fee charged. 

After you have purchased good stock and it is what 
suits you after having read up on the standards for that 
type of animal, THEN you can start building up your own 
strain and in three or four generations of stock you can, by 
careful selection, have a real STRAIN whose pedigrees you 
KNOW to be right. Keep careful track of your pedigrees 
as shown in the section on rabbitry records; if you do those 
things it will not be long until you have a well-earned repu- 
tation of being a person of honesty who has the; *'real thin^'' 
in real gtock of your favorite breed. 



THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 



25 



Honesty pays from the ground up and that business is 
not worth while, whether rabbits or dry goods, that is not 
built foursquare on the foundation of the square deal. 

Spend your money for a little of the best, rather than a 
lot of the cheapest, and you will invariably find that you 
have really bought the cheapest; for the best IS the cheapest. 
Better to buy ONE good bred doe from a reliable dealer, a 
doe bred to a good buck, and good clean papers on both the 
doe and her coming litter, than to buy a lot of half-breeds 
that will bring you nothing and do nothing. 




— Photo by Kadel & Herbert, New York 

BLUE BEVEREN RABBITS RAISED BY EX-SERVICE MEN IN 

ENGLAND. THE CARCASSES ARE SENT TO LONDON. THE 

PELTS ARE TANNED AND SOLD FOR $1.75 TO .$2 EACH. 



Of course, where one is buying simply to raise meat 
stock, a selection should be made on the basis of good 
health and PRODUCTIVITY, more than any other factor. 
Size is the next consideration, but look up the matter of the 
parentage of the stock from a productive standpoint, where 
meat will be your object. 



26 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

SPECIALTY BREEDING 

"The successful rabbit breeder is the one who does NOT 
try to mix his objects, but devotes his time, talent and ad- 
vertising space and money to one great specialty." 

Now in market stock you will find that the buck from a 
productive mother will be the sire to big litters, while the 
doe from a productive father will put out big litters. So 
see to the parentage as well as you can, and when you do 
get a fast and good producing doe save all her sons for 
breeders, selecting the best of these for herd leaders (speak- 
ing now of market or meat stock), and when you get a 
buck that is an especially fine producer, throwing large and 
good litters from practically all does, save his daughters for 
breeders, selecting the best of these to head a pen. 

Heed these remarks because they apply to buying the 
stock, insofar as you can learn these things of the stock 
you buy. You will know by this that you should buy the 
daughters of the fine bucks and the sons of the fine does. 
Thus you will carry on the line for it is nature's law of 
preservation of a species to thus promote the father's best 
in the daughters for the next generations benefit, and the 
mother's best in the sons. 

There is no doubt that you will make some mistakes in 
buying stock, but if you will persevere THROUGH these first 
mistakes and still go on loving the BUSINESS, you will be 
well rewarded for your efforts. 

RABBITRY RECORDS 

General Remarks 

Rabbitry management or any business management re- 
quires records more or less permanent in order to know 
whether we are progressing or not. Hence the earnest in- 
junction to START your rabbitry with WRITTEN records of 
some kind. If you can find improvements on the kinds given 
here, well and good. But at least start with these and thus 
have something to refer to. 

The first and most essential record, perhaps, about the 
rabbitry is the hutch card, to be kept in a little tin pocket 
bent for the purpose and fastened to the door or front of the 
hutch. The tin pocket or slide is better than tacking on 



THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 27 

the card, as it preserves the card and is easier to change 
from hutch to hutch as the records may require. 

The following is a form of hutch card used by many of 
the finest and largest rabbitries in the country, and worked 
out after years of experiment, based on simplicity and wide 
range of usefulness. 

The card" should be about 3x6 inches in size. 



NAME (or number) 

SIRE DAM 

BORN PRICE.,. 

DUE NUMBER MATED TO 

(to litter) (of young) (buck or doe) 



The numbering system of keeping track of rabbits is 
probably the most simple and easiest to handle, and what 
may here be said of recording the numbered rabbits may 
readily be applied to the naming of the stock, instead of 
numbering it. 

We will assume that you have just separated the young 
from each other at about three months, or a little less, of 
age. 

To mark these youngsters, one by one, as they are sep- 
arated to a hutch for each, you should get a regular mark- 
ing or tatoo outfit, which can be purchased from any rab- 
bitry supply house, or write to the publishers of this book. 
This marking identifies your rabbits permanently, and is one 
of the best systems known for keeping track of individual 
rabbits and litters. Instructions, "How to Use," are sup- 
plied with each marker. 

A good system of records is to letter the bucks and num- 
ber the does. 

Now referring to the hutch card, the number (or name) 
of this rabbit, let us say, is 34, being a doe. Her father, or 
sire, was K; her mother, or dam, was 21. 34 was born July 
7, 1921. 



28 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

The hutch card now looks like this on the top portion; 



NAME 




34 












• 


SIRE. . . 


.. ..K. .. 




DAM . . . 


...21 


BORN. . 


. .7-7-21.. 




PRICE.. 


..$5.00.... 



Along in January, 1922, we decide to breed this doe to 
a fancy buck we just bought, which we have lettered R. 
Thirty days later, she drops a fine litter of seven. As 
we bred her on the 12th, the hutch card now looks like this: 



NAME 


34. 




SIRE... 


.. . .K 


DAM 21 


BORN. . 


..7-7-21 


PRICE.... $5.00.... 


DUE 


NUMBER 


MATED TO 


2-12 


7 


R 



Assuming that the buck, K, the father of 34, was sired 
by B, and was out of the doe 11; and assuming that the 
doe 21, the mother of 34, was sired by D and was out of the 
doe 14; we now can make a pedigree of the mothers side 
for any one of the seven youngsters produced by the doe 34, 
on the 12th of February, as per the above hutch card. 

This pedigree for the mother's side would appear as 
follows: 



THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 29 

Pedigree of any one of the seven born February 12, 1922. 



BLANK'S SUPERIOR RABBITRY 

229 Billers Street 
JONESBURG, N. C. 



Sold to 
Address 



Shipped, date 

Remarks 

(Here write in show winnings or any other interesting 
facts about the lineage or stock.) 



ANY ONE 
OF THE 
SEVEN 



Born.. 2-12-22 



SIRE. 



R 



S^^^ (DAM. 



DAM 



( SIRE 
I DAM. 



DAM 34 



{ SIRE. . .K 



DAM. . .21.. 



j SIRE...B. 
( DAM. ..11. 



\ SIRE. ..D. 
(dam. ..14. 

We declare the above to be a true and correct pedigree 
as shown, to the best of our knowledge. 

THE BLANK SUPERIOR RABBITRY, 

By Mgr. 



Of course, where the data is known, you will fill in the 
pedigree of the sire to the young, known above as R, which 
would make the pedigree complete. 

These pedigrees should be made out in duplicate, one to 
be kept on file in your lettered or numbered files, the other 
to be given to the customer with the purchase of the rabbit. 

This makes a reference file with almost no extra labor, 
and enables you to refer to any rabbit the customer bought. 

To obtain duplicates most effectively you should have 
a typewriter. In these days they may be obtained on small 
payments down, and carbon paper may be used on a blank 



30 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

paper of a cheap kind for the second copy, only the one copy 
being a regular printed job, the one you send to the customer. 
The typewriter is also very necessary for the use of 
the correspondence part of your business, as its use with 
carbon paper always gives you a copy of what you wrote the 
customer, and typewriting looks so much more business-like 
and makes a much better impression on the prospective 
customer, 

VARIETIES 

Belgian Hares 

So far as we can learn, the Belgian Hare, sometimes 
known as the Rufus Red Belgian Hare rabbit, originated in 
France and Belgium,, the breeders of the two countries cross- 
ing their lines so frequently that it is impractical to tell 
which is which so far as rabbits are concerned. 

Although titled a "hare," the Belgian Hare is not a hare 
at all, but a rabbit. The chief distinguishing difference be- 
tween hares and rabbits being that the rabbit is easily do- 
mesticated, while the hare is not, and that at birth the 
hare is equipped something as the deer is, ready furred and 
with eyes open, able to care for itself, that is, so far as es- 
cape from immediate danger may be concerned. 

The rabbit, on the other hand, is born blind, and re- 
mains so, generally, for seven to nine days, and is born prac- 
tically without any hair, thus being totally helpless in its ex- 
treme infancy, up to at least three weeks, so far as foraging 
lor itself may be concerned. 

The Belgian Hare finds its principal usefulness as foo:l, 
although we are now getting to the point where the fur is 
getting noticed more and, no doubt, in the very near future 
will be a highly desirable asset in the Belgian Hare, as it 
already is in some of the other breeds mentioned later. 

While the utility side of the Belgian Hare will always 
be largely food, the fancy or thoroughbred side of the in- 
dustry will always have its devotees just as it does in cattle, 
hogs and horses. There will always be a good market for 
good stock at top prices for those who will let the world know 



THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 



31 



that he has such stock and who will base his business abso- 
lutely on the square deal. 

In the matter of feeding as applied to this breed of 
rabbit, a plain food of grains and alfalfa with- but little green 
stock and small quantities of root crops, are to be advised. 
Water should be given rather sparingly to the show stock, 
a short drink twice a day being sufficient except in extreme 
hot weather. The whole idea being to hold the long slim 
shape and not to overfeed, as it is far easier to overfeed a 
rabbit than to underfeed it in this breed of stock. 




.Ill '1,1 I ,Mi,|, 1,1m , ._ 

BELGIAN HARE, "MORNING .'^TAR" 



Although the standard on Belgian Hares, as shown in 
the latter part of this section, calls for seven pounds mature 
buck and eight pounds mature doe, it is still a fact that the 
thing most by breeders of the fancy stock is shape and 
color. When these are well advanced the weight becomes a 
secondary consideration with practically all breeders and 
most of the judges in actual practice. 



32 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

So much is this true that in the effort to get fine bones 
and delicate appearing specimens of the long, slender variety 
and type among the English breeders of the past twenty, 
years, health and weight were sacrificed and some of the 
finest and longest specimens ever seen were produced. 

Poor health, of course, meant poor fur and dead color. 
Thanks to the breeding wisdom that made America famous 
as outbreeding the Belgian horse, outbreeding the English 
setter dog, and many other types of cattle and domestic ani- 
mals; we find that the American breeder took hold of the 
rabbit question, until today the very finest specimens of 
ANY rabbit are those bred in the United States. 

We find many breeders not only retaining shape and 
color, but actually meeting standard weight requirements by 
careful selection. 

By observing the simple rule that nature always pro- 
motes the color of the father in his daughters as their most 
noticeable trait, and that the size and shape of the mother 
is promoted in her sons as their most noticeable trait, it is 
comparatively easy to build up any kind of strain you wish 
by just keeping careful track of what you are breeding. The 
future is before you and the rest is simply patient progress. 

Description 

The color of the Belgian Hare required is a rich, light 
mahogany red, or reddish brown for coat, with practically 
half the hairs on the bacl^c and flank coats tipped with black 
on the extreme ends. This gives an overlay or "ticking" of 
a wavy, fine shadowy effect, having a rich velvety appearance. 
The fur should be glossy and lifelike. 

The belly should be a strong cream and the under jaw 
practically the same. The ears must be well furred to the 
tips and very thin and the inside a shell pink. 

The eye bright and saucy looking, with just enough white 
showing to give a slightly wild and hare-like appearance. 

At maturity the standard calls for seven pounds for the 
buck and eight for the doe, at seven to eight months of 
age. Up to six months the rabbit should weigh about one and 
one-eighth pounds for each month of its growth. 

The type of Belgian Hare desired by fancy and thor- 
oughbred breeders is of the long slim variety, with snap and 
go in the manner of carriage and plenty of room beneath the 



THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 33 

belly and flanks of the animals as it sits up. The ears to 
be held well together and at direct right angles to the line of 
the head; chest well out, front legs slim and well together, the 
whole appearance full ot life and pride. Flesh firm and 
solid, which is obtained by a long hutch with a hurdle in it 
as a regular home for the rabbit. 

BELGIAN HARE STANDARD 

Adopted by the Federation Belgian Breeders of America. 

Color 

Rich Rufus Red. Carried well down the sides and hind 
quarters and as little white under jaws as possible. Points, 
20; cuts, 1 to 10. 

Shape 

Body long and slim, well tucked up at flank and well 
ribbed up. Back well arched. Loins well rounded, not 
choppy. Head long, slim and trim; the slimmer th'e better. 
Tail straight, and specimen to be altogether of a racy ap- 
pearance. Points, 20; cuts, 1 to 10. 

Ticking 
Wavy appearance. Points, 10; cuts, 1 to 5. 

Ears 

Five inches in length, thin, well laced on the tips, as 
far down th*e outside edge as possible. Good color and well 
set on. Points, 10; cuts, 1 to 5. 

Eyes 
Hazel color, large, round, bright and bold. Points, 10; 
cuts, 1 to 5. 

Legs and Feet 
Fore feet and legs long, straight and slender, well col- 
ored and free from ticking. Hind feet to be as near the color 
of the front feet as possible; (not a tan color). Points, 10; 
cuts, 1 to 5. 

Condition 
Perfectly healthy, not fat, but firm in flesh and with 
good quality of fur, without dewlap. Points, 15; cuts, 1 to 5. 

Weight 

Eight pounds. Points, 5; cuts, 1 to 3. 



34 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

Color Description 

A description of a Rufus Red color is well nigh impos- 
sible; we have before us a- description given by the Na- 
tional Association as follows: The true color is almost a 
clverrj^ red, but has a golden shade of rust in the effect that 
is very pleasing to the eye. 

The well informed breeder will agree that "cherry" red 
is rather far fetched and altog-ether insufficient. We lean 
to the thought of a brownish red blended with a cinnamon 
brown. Harmonize this brownish red with a cinnamon 
brown in your mind's eye and you will have more nearly 
the color of the thoroughbred Belgian of today. 

The ticking should be entirely absent on lower sides, 
shoulders and front legs. 

The jaws and ears to be free from ticking. Particular 
attention should be given to producing red feet and legs. 

A beautiful jet black lacing confined sharply to the edges 
of clean ears is one of the real features of a thoroughbred. 

The ticking, which consists of black points on the red 
hairs, should be found on the following sections: Rump, 
back and upper sides. 

Special color sections ' are : Belly to be a deep creamy 
cinnamon, rather than creamy; the color which has been 
acceptable in the past and before the Belgian was brought 
up to the Standard of today. This belly color should be 
held up as nearly as can be under the jaws. Top of tail 
should blend with the body color and be as free from tick- 
ing as possible; under side of tail, white. Under color (not 
belly) should run clear to the skin. 

Disqualifications for Registration 
Bucks under 5A pounds, does under 6 pounds. Any dis- 
ease, crooked fe-et or legs, missing toe nails, a decided patch 
of white hair, very poor condition, lumps, blemishes of any 
kind, crooked tail, lop ear and ear under four inches in 
length. A lop ear is to be understood as an ear that is not 
carri-ed up in position when the specimen is in an alert pose. 
A specimen may carry the tail to either the right or left side 
at intervals, but when it is so decidedly kinked that it 
"flops" back into a crooked shape when releas-ad, it should 
disqualify. 



THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 35 

THE FLEMISH GIANT 

As its name would imply, this rabbit originated in 
Flanders, principally, but like the Belgian Hare, it has been 
crossed and recrossed so many times with specimens from 
other countries that it is difficult to really say just what we 
have in America, so far as ancestry is concerned. 

It is probable that the Flemish Giant rabbit will always 
be raised principally for its meat, although some of the breed- 
ers are already making a special issue of the fur, particularly 
where the rabbit is of a fancy color, such as clear black or 
clear white. 

In feeding the Flemish Giant rabbit, we have more of 
a beef purpose than with the Belgian Hare, as weight in the 
Flemish Giant is a primary consideration. Therefore, we will 
pursue a little different method. 

A good start is the first requisite. Some of the young 
should be placed with a nurse doe for first three days, so that 
the real mother will have only three or four to feed. To 
do this, of course, it will be necessary to breed a common 
or meat stock doe at the same time you do the Flemish doe. 
By thus raising the young with more than one doe, we get 
size and weight. A little precaution must be used, however, 
in changing the young over to the nurse doe. First, take 
the mother nurse doe out of the hutch and place her at a 
little distance. Take her babies out and kill them all but 
one or two of the best. Take the Flemish Giant babies one 
at a time and rub them back and forth gently on the stomach 
of the nurse doe, placing them in the nest box of the nurse 
doe immediately. Do this with each of the Flemish babies 
that you want to save. 

Leave about three or four babies to each doe when 
through. 

About ten days before the Flemish Giant babies are born, 
you should commence adding a little milk to the Flemish 
mother's drinking water until, at the birth of the babies, you 
are giving her about one-third water and two-thirds milk 
to drink twice daily, just as much as you find she will clean 
up nicely in twenty minutes, so as not to have it about the 
hutch to sour. 



36 



OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 




FLEMISH GIANT DOE, "FERNWOOD PRINCESS' 




-Courtesy of Scott Smith 

FLEMISH GIANT BUCK, "FERNWOOD PRINCE' 



THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 37 

After the young have started to eat well, in three to five 
weeks, you may discontinue the milk diet for the mother, 
and start feeding the whole hutch a mash made up of the 
grains you have been feeding regularly, and one part of lin- 
seed oil cake, or oil meal to each six parts of the mixed 
grains. This will be a dry mash and must be thoroughly 
mixed. 

Feed this mash twice daily in the winter and once daily 
in the summer, along with your hay and water, regularly. 

Feed just so that each mess is well cleaned up before the 
next feeding. Do not feed so much that it will lie about and 
rot. 

A larger quantity of greens and roots may be fed the 
Flemish Giant than to any other rabbit, although the rule 
of nothing left at the next feeding must be observed at each 
meal. Regulate it accordingly. 

While you will, of course, feed the Flemish Giant more 
than you do the Belgian Hare or the smaller breeds, as they 
are a bigger rabbit, still the cost per pound of produced meat 
will not probably be as great in the actual feeding of the 
stock. This may be offset, however, by the fact that one 
must support a nurse doe in the first three weeks of the life 
of the young. Where this is not done the young will grad- 
ually take on less size per month in each successive gen- 
eration, until you get to the production of the pitiful little 
grey rabbits sold as Flemish "Giants," when they are any- 
thing but giants, or more like dwarfs. 

The reason is all in the good start on a rush growth that 
must be made. You MUST get MORE nourishment into stock 
to keep up size and you MUST begin at the beginning to do 
it. Hence, you can stuff a Flemish Giant all that they will 
clean up between feeds and that of rich foods if you are care- 
ful about breaking them in to each new feed, and you will 
get what you want in the Flemish— weight. But one thing 
must be remembered, you must give the Flemish Giant plenty 
of room and exercise, they are big rabbits. If you attempt 
to keep them in small hutches to gain weight, you will find 
that they only gain flabby fat and that they will weaken their 
constitution with this same weight of fat until they will be 
susceptible to every little ill that comes along. 



38 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

Description 

The Flemish Giant may be of several colors, it being so 
far impossible to make them hold to any one general color, 
with the exception of the white and blue Flemish. The color 
determines to some extent what weights shall prevail, the 
heaviest rabbits being in the types in which little or not any 
attention has been paid to color to gain weight. This is 
known as the Grey Flemish, and is of a nondescript grey 
color, generally showing plenty of "sand" or red tinge across 
the shoulders and top of the neck. The belly may be white 
or greyish. 

They must have great length to carry the weight and 
furnish the meat, and the rabbit will generally be lying down 
in a lazy posture, seldom showing the poses and snap of the 
smaller breeds. The weight of the Grey Giant, standard, is 
thirteen pounds for the buck and fifteen for the doe, at 
twelve months. 

The steel grey Flemish Giant must have the color of 
newly-made iron, as near as possible, or perhaps more re- 
sembling the color of a bar of heavy iron casting, at a new 
break. The color should be as even as possible on the back, 
flanks and sides and the belly grey, but not ticked like the 
back and flanks, giving the broken iron effect. 

The weight of the steel grey Flemish Giant is eleven 
pounds for the buck and thirteen for the doe. Of course, in 
all Flemish, the main title being Giants, any weights over 
these, as high as possible, are to be desired ; these weights 
represent the standard minimum in this class of rabbit, and 
are given as at maturity, twelve months in the Giant rabbit. 

The other Flemish Giant rabbits are the White, the 
Black, and the Blue, or Maltese. All weights running about 
one pound below given on the steel grey, just above. 

The ideal Flemish Giant in any class is one that makes 
the weight, carries the color and still has a firm clean flesh 
and fur. 

FLEMISH GIANT STANDARD 

Compiled from Standards in use by Several Associations. 

Color 
As is well known by all the Flemish Breeders, Flemish 
Giants as a rule do not breed true to the color of the par- 



THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 39 

ents. A sire and dam of on-e color will throw young of an- 
other color; for Instance, when Steel is bred to Steel Grays, 
Light Grays and Black may be in the litter of this mating. 
This does not by any means mean that stock producing 
young like that are inferior or not pure bred. The Giant 
is a rabbit that has been crossed and recrossed many times 
to get size. In many cases where mostly Steel Grays were 
want-ed, a Black doe has been mated to a Light Gray buck, 
or vice versa, and it has been found that whole litters have 
been Steel Gray from such a mating, and in most cases the 
majority of the young have been Steel Gray, therefore, it 
can be seen the reason why the Giants as a rule do not 
breed true to the color of their parents. This, however, in 
no way reduced the value of the stock, as all colors are of 
equal value. It is possible to produce a strain that will 
breed tru-e to color by always selecting specimens of a cer- 
tain color and never breeding to another color. 

Type 

The Flemish Giant should be a giant in every respect, 
with a long body, large massive frame, large bone and ears, 
straight powerful legs and feet; bucks to have larger heads 
than does, and does may have a well developed d-ewlap evenly 
carried. 

Weight 

When fully matured bucks and does should weigh as fol- 
lows according to color. 

Steel Grays — Bucks, 12 pounds and over; Does, 14 pounds 
and over. 

Light Grays — Bucks, 13 pounds and over; Does, 15 pounds 
and over. 

Blacks — Bucks, 12 pounds and over; Does, 13 pounds 
and over. 

Whites — Bucks, 11 pounds and over; Does, 12" pounds 
and over 

Above are weights for stock fully matured and developed 
and when these weights are attained especially when not 
over fat, you have a Giant rabbit in every sense of the word. 

Ears 
Large, strong, thick and straight, well set up and to be 
the same as body color of the animal. 



40 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

Condition 

Glossy shiny coat, full of life, brightn'ess and luster; 
flesh solid and firm, and coat free from moult. 

Flemish Standards 
Scale of Points 

Steel Light 

Gray Gray Black White 

Head 5 5 5 5 

Body 15 20 15 15 

Size 15 15 15 15 

Weight 10 15 10 10 

Color 25 20 25 20 

Ears 5 5 5 5 

Legs and Fe-at 15 5 15 10 

Condition 10 15 10 20 



100 



100 



100 



100 



Disqualifications 

Patches of hair of other color that specimen; lop or lazy 
ears; moon eyes; crooked, broken, wry, screw tails, or tails 
that are carried sideways; crooked or deformed fe-et; ears with 
cuts over one inch long; unhealthy specimens. 

NEW ZEALAND RED RABBITS 

The origin of this rabbit is shrouded in mystery, some 
claiming one origin and some another. The theory is that 
it originated from a crossed Golden Fawn with possibly a 
Giant of some type, giving an extra large Golden Fawn rab- 
bit. As a matter of fact, the rabbits from the islands of 
New Zealand are of a greyish hue, something after the man- 
ner of our cottontails, but somewhat larger; so the claim 
made concerning the first specimen of this breed, has never 
been convincing. Be that as it may, the many fine points of 
the New Zealand Red rabbit are not to be despised, and it is 
good that this useful and beautiful animal enjoys so great a 
popularity among breeders today. 

In weight and size the New Zealand is between the Flem- 
ish Giant and the Belgian Hare, the mature stock weighing 
nine pounds for a buck and ten pounds for the doe, standard. 



THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 



41 



The color is a rich tawney yellow in the fine specimens, 
tending toward an orange in shade, the redder types being 
more desirable. 

They are useful both as fur and as food rabbits. 

As meat they are of firm flesh, maturing quickly and 
reaching weight in good time. The taste does not show ma- 
terial difference with that of the Belgian Hare. 

The same instructions for feeding as given in the Flem- 
ish Giants will apply to the New Zealands, as weight is a 
prime consideration when coupled with good color and firm 
flesh. The delicate form and fine bones of the Belgian Hare 
are not desired nor sought in the New Zealand nor any of 
the heavy rabbits, as they are all raised for their beef qual- 
ities. 




-Courtesy of Junior McConnell 

NEW ZEALAND KED DOB 



Like the Flemish, they should be allowed to have plenty 
of room and exercise, and, in fact, this will apply to any 
rabbit, as they are naturally a foraging animal and used tq 
wide treedom in their native state. 

In breeding the New Zealand, care should be UBed to 
get specimens that come up to the weight first and then breed 
for the colors and type. Too many times the anjciety to at- 



42 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

tain the exact rich orange color so desirable leads one to sac- 
rifice weight, with the result that, for all practical purposes, 
we have a Golden Fawn rabbit, calling it the New Zealand. 

Description 

In color, the New Zealand should be a rich tawny yellow 
tending to a reddish buff, with a real creamy belly. The 
feet and legs must be free from white or light bars, some- 
times called shadow bars. The ears should be carried well 
up and they should have a bright, though not a wild, eye. 

Flesh must be firm and fur clean and glossy. The whole 
type of the animal should be alert and alive, but the nose 
of the New Zealand will generally resemble that of the 
Flemish Giant more than the Belgian Hare, as the New Zea- 
land comes under the head of the heavy type of rabbit. 

The mature New Zealand will be eight months old and 
weigh nine pounds to the buck and ten pounds to the doe. 

NEW ZEALAND RED STANDARD 

Adopted hy the Ame7-iean Federation of Neiv Zealand 

Breeders. 

Color 

Rich Reddish Baff, as evenly spread as possible over 
head and face. In its general appearance this color scheme 
should be free from stray white hairs, light or dark ticking, 
frosty or smudgy effects, and as near the same shade over 
all surfaces as possible, due allowance being made for a much 
lighter shade of color on the belly, where the skin is made 
free to permit motion of joints. 

Type 

In g*eneral appearance the ideal type of New Zealand 
should present a rather close coupled frame that is well 
filled and free from over fatness, 

Ticking 
Free from ticking or smudge. 

Head 

Head to be medium full from top to bottom with w^ll, 
filled face and jaws. 

Eyes 
Mp^ium large, y)right and expressive, 



THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 



43 



Legs and Feet 

Medium bone, medium length and size, straight and 
strong, as near general color as possible, free from ticking 
and shadow bars. Dewlap evenly carried. 

Condition of Fur 

The fur coat should be clean, free from hutch stains, 

smooth, even and glossy. 

Standard Weights 
Three and one-half pounds at two months old. 
Four and on-e-half pounds at three months old- 
Six pounds at four months old. 
Seven pounds at five months old. 
Seven and one-half pounds at six months old. 
Eight pounds for bucks at eight months old. 
Eight and one-half pounds for does at eight months old. 
Nine pounds for bucks and ten pounds for does at ma- 
turity. 

Complete Color Description 

The ideal New Zealand Red color is a rich reddish buff, 
as deep in tone as possible, but not so deep as to lose the buff 
element and become a d*eep mahogany red, the sorrel red 
horse is offered as nature's nearest likeness. 

In general appearance this color scheme should be free 
from stray white hairs, light and dark ticking, frosty or 
smudgy effects, and as near the same shade over all sur- 
faces as possible; due allowance being made for a much 
lighter shade of color on the belly, on the flanks, and all 
surfaces where the skin is made free to permit motion of 
joints. 




-Courtesy of W. J. E. Williams 

AN IDEAL SMALL, HUTCH (MOVABLE) 



44 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

HEAD. Rich Reddish Buff, as evenly spread as possible 
ovar head and face. 

EARS. Rich Reddish Buff, as free from ear lacing as 
possible. 

NECK. Color to be as near that of other sections as 
possible, allowance being made for lighter shade on back 
of neck and on the under side. 

BACK. Rich Reddish Buff, to be as even and uniform 
over the entire back as it is possible to get it. 

SIDES. The Rich Reddish Buff of the back shall be 
carried well down over the sides and blend with the belly 
without any sharp or sudden breaks. 

BELLY. Rich Reddish Cream, credit to be given for the 
closest possible approach to the general color scheme. 

FRONT QUARTERS. Rich Reddish Buff, carried well 
around the limb and blending with the dominant color of the 
belly at the under and inner side. 

FRONT FEET AND TOES. As near that of the gen- 
eral color as possible, free from shadow spots or bars; as 
free as possible from ticking of any kind; toe nails horn 
colored. 

HIND QUARTERS. Same as the general body color and 
carried well over the hind parts to the tail, well around legs 
to blend with under color. 

HIND FEET AND TOES. As near the general body 
color as possible; toe nails horn colored. 

TAIL. Upper surface to be the same as body color, 
under surface to be as near that of other under parts as pos- 
sible, but not to he cut for white. 

Standard Disqualifications 

Crooked front or hind feet or legs, crooked spines, wrj' 
or twisted necks, tails that are crooked or otherwise de- 
formed, ears that fall below the horizontal of the head as 
drawn through it from ear to ear, ears that are less than 
four and one-half inches long, eyelids that turn either in or 
out upon themselves, blindness of one or both eyes, absence 
of ear, tail, toe nail or any evidence that a possible blemish 
that would have disqualified has been removed, any other 
anatomical or bodily deformity. 



THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 45 

Scale of Points 



Section Type 

Total Length 10 

Head 5 

Eyes '^ 

Ears ^ 

Back 6 

Sides 3 

B-elly 3 

Front Quarters 8 

Front Feet 2 

Hind Quarters 8 

Hind Feet 2 

Tail 2 



)lor 


Condition 




Fur 5 


Fl-esh 5 


3 






1 






5 






4 




Points 


3 


Type 


60 


3 


Color 


30 


3 
2 
3 


Condition 


10 


Equals . .. 


100 



RABBITRY MANAGEMENT 

AH business is conducted for a profit. Hobbies fre- 
quently begun for pleasure only, develop into businesses, and 
then come under the above rul-e. 

The profit in a business is often miscalculated for the 
reason that only one or two of the costs are taken into con- 
sideration in the figuring up of the costs against the income. 
For instance, in the rabbit business, many breeders fail to 
figure in their rental costs on the theory that since they 
are renting the house and grounds, or own them, it is not 
necessary to figure any cost for that. The rental basis 
should be the value of rental of that portion of the property 
of the owner used as a rabbitry, feed room, store room, etc. 
Depreciation of the buildings and equipment should be fig- 
ured in at a basis of at least twenty per cent of the original 
cost per each year of use. 

Profit on any business can only be derived from the dif- 
ference between th-e total costs and expenses and the total 
receipts or income, on the service rendered. SERVICE should 
be in capital letters in the mind of every br-eeder of rabbits, 



46 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

whether fancy or common stock. Careful, efficient service 
depends almost entirely on the records kept. In our business 
real service will depend on our knowledge of our stock based 
on the reports we get from the hutch cards, the pedigrees, 
and the accurate records. By keeping such records we can 
so manage our fine does and bucks that we will se-e to it 
that each doe produces not to exceed four litters per year, 
while the bucks will be used not oftener than twice p'er 
week. This makes a ratio of about one buck to fifteen or 
sixteen does. 

The surplus of bucks, after a careful selection is made 
each week or so for breeding purposes, will be disposed of 
by the well regulated rabbitry, on the theory that no "free 
board'^rs" are wanted. The same good management will see 
to it, too, that the doe producing below the average will 
soon find the air. This is taken up more fully in the past 
section on rabbitry records. 

Efficiency 

Efficiency is the idea. Efficiency in production, effi- 
ciency in reporting that production, that we may know pre- 
cis-ely who is doing it and which rabbits to keep on as pro- 
ducers. 

The market for fancy stock is naturally the fancier, that 
is, the breeder and buyer of thoroughbred stock. Just a 
word here for the dealer, the man who buys fancy stock at 
a price to dispose of it again. 

It is perfectly logical that the dealer should want Dick 
to come back to the dealer for his future stock, because this 
same said dealer has spent honest-to-goodness money for big 
space in the pet stock magazines to let Dick know that tha 
dealer COULD furnish the stock that Dick wants. Hence this 
dealer does not take the trouble to say "I bought this rabbit 
of Tom, to fill your order," when Tom was too cheap to do 
a little advertising and win the trade for himself. 

We hold that if the breeder is a good breeder but not 
a good salesman nor a good advertiser, then it is really the 
DEALER'S place to bring Tom's goods to Dick, and there 
is no obligation whatever to tell Dick where he got them as 
long as the goods are honest and the value for the money. 

That's the way big business of all kinds is conducted and 



THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 



47 



we will get on a business basis when we quit fighting our 
distributors, learn the selling and advertising games for our- 
selves and live and let live. 

It is just here that this work will find its great value; 
it will enable us all to get a good idea not only of the 
breeding of rabbits, but of the great profit that will come to 
him who dares to put up his money on his judgment of the 
public's wants. 

Such men are the Marshall Fields, the Ingersolls, the 
Woolworths in big business and the big men in the rabbit 
industry who dare, are the m-en who win. So let's not crab 
about the other fellow's success; let's just thank him for the 
example, be he dealer or strictly breeder, and"GO ON" in 
the industry. 




— Courtesy of S. M. Scott, Jr. 

WHITE FLEMISH GIANTS 

Our market being the fancier and fancy breeder, we will 
most likely be able to reach him through his reading. What 
does h'e read? He reads all the late pet and small stoc}^ 
journals, the rabbit magazines and poultry journals and such 
papers. A person who is a rabbit fancier or breeder is quite 
as frequently a lover of other stock, such as cavies, dogs, 
cats, fish, skunk and mice and rats, bantams and chickens. 
Hence the order of importance of the medliims you may 
choose to advertise In is about as follows: 



48 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

Rabbit Journals, Small Stock Journals, Poultry Journals, 
Dog and Cat Publications, Goat and similar trade magazin-es. 

The essential thing, however, before rushing into print 
Is to get a QUANTITY of GOOD stock on hand, by breeding 
up and then see to it that you have exhibited in several 
shows, so that you know by experience WHAT a good animal 
IS, after which it is plenty of time to take up space and 
money in the better class of trade to which you aspire as a 




AN IDEAL SHIPPING CRATE 

fancier. You should really HAVE what you advertise, either 
as a discriminating dealer of -experience in rabbits, or else 
as a bona fide breeder. Do NOT try to deceive the people. 
On the other hand do not sell the best you have or your 
quality will soon deteriorate till you have no quality left. 
Keep your very best to keep up your stock and let the show 
winners you own stay with you until they have left a goodly 
part of themselves in youngsters behind them, b-efore you 
sell them. 



THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 



49 










Kl 



H-iH 



IK 

PhO 
^ W 

Mr H 

HO* 



50 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

DIFFERENT WAYS OF PREPARING APPE- 
TIZING RABBIT MEAT 
By 0. E. PoHL 



The Preparation of Preserves From Rabbit Meat 

THE chief valu-e of the rabbit can be divided into two 
varieties of uses, viz., as breeder, and last but not least, 
as a furnisher of food and fur. Its value as food is by 
far the most important, even if we have to fall back to the 
sport-breed'er to give us a rabbit that combines all purposes. 

The present feeling against the eating of rabbit meat is 
entirely without cause and in regard to taste, rabbit meat 
surpasses many other m-eats. The main point of cause is the 
mode of preparation for the table. This we will describe 
in the following articles as it is done in countries where the 
rabbit is a standard addition to the table. 

We can preserve meat by putting it up in Mason jars, 
smoke it, or put it up in sausages; thereby meat that can 
be raised during the summer can be canned, etc., at the right 
age and eaten when you wish throughout the year by simply 
warming it up and serving it, the same as you would veg- 
etables. This canning process is best done in the fall when 
the fur is of some value. 

1. In this country we have our Mason jars and these 
are the ones that we will use in the first part of this article. 

After the rabbit has been prepared as usual by skinning 
and cleaning, it is soaked in v/ater for 24 hours, changing 
the water several times. Then hang the rabbit until it has 
dripped out good. The next day cut th'e rabbit into suitable 
pieces, to fit the jars to be used- The spaces created be- 
tween pieces can be filled with suitable pieces of meat from 
the bones. Fry these pieces as usual in the pan until about 
one-half done. To add to the taste a few strips of bacon 
can be fri-ed witU it. Tl^en put the meat into the jars and 
fill the jars with the drippings from the frying pan to about 
two inches from the top and cover the whole with about one 
inch of rendered rabbit fat. A space of one inch from the 
top of jar should be left empty to give enough room for a 
vacuum to hold tlie jar cover, Put rubber ring and cover oil 



THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 



51 



the jars and put them in hot water to cover two-thirds of 
jar and let it slowly boil for one hour for pint jars and one 
and one-half hour for quart jars. Take the jars with the 
boiling kettle off the stove and let cool slowly, while the 
jars are in the water. After they have cooled put a clamp 
on them and they will keep this way until you use the con- 
tents. Only good rubber rings must be used for this pur- 
pose. 




WIRE FUR STRETCHER 
IN USE 



52 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

In order to have meat on hand to make soup, etc., cook 
the meat, after the large bones have been removed, in a 
little water with spices and vegetables to be used, and put 
the whole in jars, and after closing seal the jars by boiling 
at a temperature of 212 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Stewed rabbit can be prepared the same way only do 
not put any flour into th^ stew to thicken until ready for 
use on the table. 

If you now want to use the canned rabbit, all you have 
to do is to warm it, or in case of fried rabbit, fry it, until 
done in the gravy already in the jar and in a very short 
time a wonderful meal is ready on the table. Meat pre- 
pared this way is said to taste better than w:hen prepared 
fresh. 

Smoking 

Rabbit meat is just as suitable for smoking as any other 
kind of meat, provided it is done right. Before you can 
smoke it, the meat necessitates a careful preparation. Usu- 
ally older and larger animals are used in this process, es- 
pecially bucks, who give a tough roast or fry anyway- The 
butchered animals, after soaking in water and dripped, are 
cut into pieces, the hind legs, th'e front legs and the back. 
This is cut into pieces about two inches long. The head is 
used for soups, etc. To smoke a whole animal is not prac- 
tical 

Now a solution is prepared that contains one tablespoon- 
ful of salt and one tabl-espoonful of saltpeter to the quart. 
Enough of this brine must be made to cover all the meat to 
be smoked. Into this place the meat and cover it with a 
board in such a way that all the meat is covered by the 
brin'e at all times and weigh the board down with a rock. 
Put this in a cool place and let stand for two or three days. 
During that time a good smoke house can be made out of a 
barrel. If you like, spices such as laurel leaves or pickling 
spices can be added and this naturally improves the flavor. 

In order to make a smokehouse, take an empty barrel 
and up end it, place two bricks into the bottom lengthwise 
and put a piece of tin over th-em. This will support a metal 
pot. About an inch from the bottom and through the bot- 
tom bore a few holes to give the draft to the apparatus. 



THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 53 

Then lay over the open end of the barrel a f-ew sticks to hold 
the meat, attached thereto with strings. The pieces of meat 
must not touch each other though. Th-e space between the 
fire in the pot and the meat must be at least 30 inches. Now 
start a weak fire in the pet, of sawdust, preferably beach 
tree, until a good smoke 'evolves and smoke the meat daily 
for about two hours and keep this up for a week. During 
and after smoking a piece of burlap must cover the top of 
the barrel to keep the smoke in better. 

Meat preserved this way will keep quite a while if keptH 
in a cool dry place and can be used either raw or cooked^_ 
with vegetables, to make stews, etc- In other words it wiir4 
keep as good as bacon anytime. j 

Sausages | 

The preparation of sausages from rabbit meat is very'] 
practical and th'e taste is beyond equal. It is not practical 
to use it alone though, but the addition of pork makes the 
cmbination perfect. The proper meat is the one of older 
animals. The meat is taken from the bones, cut into 
small pieces and salted. It is then ground in the meat 
grinder and spiced to taste. For every three pounds of rab- 
bit m-eat one pound of fresh fat pork is ground up and added 
The whole being mixed well and the mass left to stand for 
four or five hours in a cool place. 

In order to make the sausage, a sausage funnel is used 
and the mass filled into hog intestines after a small amount 
of ground cloves has been added. Sausages prepared this way 
are then boiled and dried for two or three days. To make 
them still more durabl-e, smoke them in the smokehouse de- 
scribed previously. 

Sausages from rabbit meat are very appetizing and can 
be fried, cooked or used as spread on sandwiches. 

Left over rabbit fat can be us-ed just like suet or lard 
for frying all meats and will not impart a taste to the meat. 



OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 






-Court is\- iif :\Ji-s <;. A. D.'Laiiij 

A SPLiENDlD EXHIBITION OF RABBIT P^UKS 



THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 



55 



COOKING THE RABBIT 

It may be said first, before proceeding to the recipes 
for cooking rabbit, that the rabbit may be fixed for the table 
in any way that chicken can be fixed, but that about one 
and on'e-half times as long would generally be required for 
the cooking to make a tender and palatable dish. A very 
little practice will enable any good housewife to prepare the 
rabbit in its tastiest and best array for the table and of all 
meats known to man there is none more palatable, more nu- 
tritious than the humble bunny. 




DRESSED RABBITS 

To Fry 

The best rabbit for frying is a young buck or doe from 
ten to twelve weeks old and weighing from three to four 
pounds alive. This dresses at about one and one-half to two 
pounds. 

Have the skillet sizzling hot with grease, preferably pork 
"cracJcUngs" pr bacon ripds, Cut the rabbit up at all the 



56 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

joints and roll in flour or cracker crumbs. As soon as you 
have put the rabbit in set the skillet back where it will fry 
more slowly, taking from forty to fifty minutes, according to 
age, to fry. Just before taking off the stove pour just a little 
melted butter over the rabbit. 

Roast 

A little older and heavier rabbit may be used for a roast, 
if desired, but of course the younger and more tender the 
rabbit, the better it can be cooked the easier it may 
be handled. 

Fill the dressed rabbit with a dressing made to suit the 
taste, having the dressing rather w^et. Sew up the carcas and 
sprinkle well with salt and seasoning to suit. Put strips 
of bacon across the body or pour a little melted butter over 
the rabbit and bake slowly for two to three hours. 

Pressed Rabbit 

Boil until well done with a pinch of soda in the water. 
Skim frequently and then take all the meat from the bones 
and grind it up in a grinder. Pour the skimmed broth, the 
water it was boiled in, into the ground meat and mix well. 
Press the same as chicken and let stand in a cool place. For 
sandwich'es and lunches. 

Hare Spanish 

One onion sliced, one chili pepper, three or four medium 
tomatoes. Cut fine and let come to a boil in salted water, 
salted to taste. Carve the hare at 'every joint and put into 
the boiling stew as above. The addition of a little soup stock 
of beef will often add to the flavor. Just before it is done add 
browned flour and butter to thick'en. 

Onion Roast 

Take a small roasting pan. Place a layer of sliced onions 

in the bottom. Cut your dressed rabbit rather fine and make 
a layer of rabbit and a layer of onion, seasoning each layer 
of the onions to suit. Pour a little m-elted butter over the 
top of all. Roast slowly, two to four hours, in a double 
roasting pan. 

Rabbit Curry- 
Cut into joints, putting two tablespoonfuls of butter and 
a few slices of onions. After it is well browned add a cupful 
of good soup stock and a tablespoonful flour and currie well 
mixed, smooth with cold water. Let simmer gently for an 



THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 57 

hour or two and then add a tablespoon ful of juice with a 
little parsley. Serve with boiled rice. 

To Broil 

Boil in salt water for five to ten minutes first, and then 
put on the broiler immediately. Season to taste. 

Pot Roast Rabbit 

Cut the rabbit, roll in flour, brown in hot fat, cover 
with boiling wat-er, add salt, pepper, one carrot and one 
onion. Cover the kettle tightly so that all flavor will be 
retained. Simmer until tender. Drop in dumplings fifteen 
minutes before serving. This recip-e may be adapted also to 
the fireless cooker. 

A Breakfast Dish 

When preparing cornmeal for frying, just before setting 
out to cool, briskly stir in some finely chopped rabbit meat, 
mixing thoroughly with the cornmeal mush. Season it. 
Roll in flour for frying. 

Jellied Rabbit • 
One rabbit, one slice onion, one bay leaf, six pepper- 
corns, three stalks celery, one envelope gelatine, on'3-half 
cup water. Cook rabbit in just enough water to keep from 
burning until very tender. Add vegetables and spices 
shown above to th-e meat of the rabbit and boil until the 
amount is about one quart. Pour into a square mold and 
serve when cold in thin slices. 

Stewed Rabbit 

Soak the rabbit after killing for a few hours in cold 
water. Cut in pieces and scald for five minutes in boiling 
water. Fry the rabbit for twenty minutes in hot greas-e. Let 
cool slightly and then slowly add gravy or hot water to 
make sufficient soup. Season with onions or garlic and pep- 
pers, bay leaf, salt and celery to taste. Cook slowly until 
very tender. 



58 



OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 




WHITE NEW ZEALAND RABBIT 

By H. K. Carter. Tacoma, Wash. 



Special Section Pertaining to 
All Breeds of Rabbits 



H. K. CARTER 

THE White New Zealand is a new breed; they were a 
sport from the Red New Zealand and are said to breed 
true to color and type. They should have the true New- 
Zealand type, no off colored hairs, said to have very good 
fur. The Standard calls for the weight type and points of 
condition the same as the New Zealand Reds. COLOR points 
being a true Albino the New Zealand White calls for pure 
white color in all sections covered by fur, the eyes should 
be pink in color. Spots of color other than white shall dis- 
qualify. 




(Left) 

WHITE 

NEW ZEALAND 

BUCK 



-Courtesy of 
Wm. Smith 



(Right) 

NEW ZEALAND 

DOE 



-Courtesy of 
A. M. Findlay 




THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 



59 



American Spotted Giant or Checkered Giant 

A large Spotted Rabbit that must be as the name calls 
for, a GIANT, as well as a well marked specimen, makes a 
very striking looking rabbit. 

The Standard calls for a butterfly nose, eye circles, and 
a spot directly under each eye; ears solid color, must have 
large patches on sides and hips and must not run together, 
but must have a strip of white between them; have saddle 
markings that run along back from ears to hips. 

They come in Blue and White, Black and White, Tor 
toise and White. Three colors are not permissab'e. They 
should be large, from 13 pounds and up for does, and from 
11 and up for bucks. Fur when made into children's coats 
is a very pretty article. 




BELGIAN FARM RABBIT — THE FOREFATHER OF THE GERMAN 

AND ENGLISH CHECKERED. NOTE ABSENCE OF 

"BUTTERFLY" ON NOSE. 

American Spotted Giant Standard 

(Formerly called German Checkered Giant.) 
Head — Large, but not so full as Flemish. Avoid "Bull 

Dog" type of head 5 

Ears — Large, heavy, firm, solid color 10 

Body — Long, well arched, broad hindquarters, straight, 
tapering to the front, not wedge-shape. Body carried 
well off the ground. Upright position 20 



.00 



OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 




THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 61 

Legs — 'Front legs long, straight, medium size bones, hind 

legs larger, carried parallel with body 10 

Size and Weight — Large as possible. Bucks 11 lbs. or 

more. Does 13 lbs. or more 20 

Color Marking — Without chain markings. Side markings 

to consist of two or more heavy patches on both sides, 25 
Condition — Perfectly healthy, not fat, flesh firm and solid. 
Fur medium length, good quality, free from moult... 10 
Disqualifications — All defects under general disqualifica- 
tions, also split butterfly, one-half butterfly, absence of any 
important markings, as eye circles, butterfly, ear markings, 
more than three-fourths of saddle or side marking. Gray 
color or any three colors disqualifies. Side patches and sad 
die marking all in solid patch disqualify. Cuts; double dew 
lops; sway back. Spots and markings other than called for 
to cut according to size and number. 

' Black, blue and tortoise to be judged alike. No prefer- 
ence shown to either color. Separate classes may be made 
for blacks, blues, tortoise. 

The Himalayan Rabbit 

The Himalayan is one of the most beautiful of all rab- 
bits. A class of them in the show room makes a striking 
display and causes much comment. This breed is used more 
for fur and exhibition purposes than for the meat. They 
have to be small, about four pounds is what the Standard 
calls for. 

This variety is thought to have come from the valleys 
of the Himalaya mountains of India. In early history they 
are described under the following names: "Egyptian Smut," 
"Antwerp" and "Chinese Smut-nosed" rabbits. 

They differ greatly from the average breed of rabbit, 
in markings; should have black feet, tail, ears and a black 
smut on nose that should come up well between the eyes and 
should be egg-shaped and not come to a point or be broken. 
The eyes are red and the fur is short and glossy, resembling- 
ermine. Its markings are most striking — a white body, with 
nose, ears, legs and tail a velvety black. 

When the young are born they are pure white and do not 
start to show the markings until they are six weeks old, 
when a nose smut will start to appear and the ears will have 



62 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

a small black band at the base which every day will get 
higher until the entire ear is black. All this time the feet 
and tail will be taking on a dirty gray color, which will 
soon be black as the rest. 

As it is a fur rabbit, great care should be used to keep 
it clean. Plenty of good clean straw should be in the hutch, 
and It should be cleaned often. When entered in a show 
spotted with hutch stains and with feet badly stained the 
judge will pass it very quickly. 

One thing the fancier must guard against is stains under 
the eyes. Sometimes it looks as if the rabbit had stained it 
with its front feet. These should never be used for breeders, 
for this will disqualify your rabbit in the show room. The 
ears should be all black, with no white hairs, the black end- 
ing abruptly where the white begins. They should be small 
and shapely, carried rather close together, with clean cut 
white between them. 

The black of all four feet should be a good deep black 
with no white hairs. The markings or stockings on the hind 
feet should go up as far as possible and should be black to 
the top. This is one of the strongest points. 

The fur is best when the rabbit is 5 to 8 months old. 
Does should not be bred until S to 10 months old. The litters 
are small and can be bred more often than the larger breeds. 
Bucks should be separated when 4 months old and stock kept 
lor exhibition should be kept out of strong light, as the black 
will fade in the sun. 

Great care should be used in breeding. Always pick the 
most perfectly marked animals and be sure that they are in 
good coat, for if they are in poor condition you must expect to 
find poor, broken-coated youngsters. 

Shape is another important point. They should not be 
short and stuffy, but have slender shape and weigh about four 
pounds. The coat is another important point. It should be 
fine and silky, pure white. A coarse, wiry-coated animal 
should never be used for a breeder. 

Himalayan Rabbit Standard 

Hind legs — Color: The "boots," as they are sometimes 
called, should be rich black and extend up the leg as far as 
possible. Right hind leg, 12.5; left hind leg, 12.5 points. 



THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 63 

Front legs — Boots should be same as the hind legs. Right 
front leg, 7.5; left front leg, 7.5 points. 

Ears — Should be solid color, with clean cut white between. 
Right ear, 7.5; left ear, 7.5 points. 

Smut on nose — Round, solid and well up between the 
eyes, 14 points. 

Tail — Solid color, 6 points. 

Weight and shape — Four pounds, body long and slender; 
does free from dewlap; 11 points. 

Condition of flesh and fur — Flesh to be solid and fur to 
be fine, soft and close; 14 points. 

Disqualifications 
Putty nose, eye stains, ear markings or nose smut or 
feet markings missing; over five pounds. 

Dutch Rabbit 

The Dutch rabbit was thought to have originated in Hol- 
land and in the last few years has become very popular in 
the United States. In all large shows good classes are shown. 
They should be about the size of the Himalayan or between 4 
and 5 pounds weight. 

They are a hardy animal and will stand up well in all 
parts of the country. They come in blues, blacks, tortoise 
shells and steel gray. 

In breeding,) always pick your strongest color. The 
blacks are the most popular and as a rule the blue will fade 
out in a short time. The other colors mentioned above are 
very rare in this country. 




-Courtesy of Wm. A. Smith 
DUTCH RABBIT 



64 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

Face Blaze — A white tapering wedge covering the nose 
and ending just beyond the whiskers, tapering up to the ears, 
dividing each cheek and ear and having a cord like line run- 
ning between the ears and joining to the white part of the 
body color, and run down to the jaw bone, not running under 
it, or cutting off the white saddle; blaze should not be wide 
between the eyes, nor taper off all at once. It should appear 
as a perfectly round sweep, the colors not running into each 
other. A perfect head is beautiful, but hard to produce. 

Neck and Ears — The base or starting spot of each ear 
on the neck should be the exact color of the body, and cut per 
fectly clear, without the colors running together. The white 
neck color should run down between the ears, wedge shaped 
into the small line connecting the blaze and the neck. Many 
specimens have poor necks and fail to have the connecting 
line between the neck and the blaze. The ears should be 
short, free from white hairs and match the body color. 

The saddle is the part of the rabbit which covers the front 
feet, chest, throat and body, just clearing the shoulders. The 
circle should be perfectly round and clear cut, not running 
into the body color. The under part should be perfectly 
straight, and not touch the front legs. A good way to tell if 
the under cut is free from the front legs is to straighten 
out the legs with your hand. The white color should not run 
into the belly color, but cut off clear. Perfect under cuts 
are very scarce. 

Feet stops are the beautiful markings, appearing on the 
ends of the hind feet, and should be white and run back 
about one and one-half inches from the end of the toes. They 
should be perfectly round, clean cut and alike on both feet. 
Eyes should match the body color, but hazel in blacks. They 
should be free from specks and "wall eyes." Wall eyes are 
off colored, pale blue as a rule, and speck eye is one with a 
small speck or splash of light color in the iris. 

Dutch Rabbit Standard 

Color — Black, blue, steel gray, tortoise and tortoise shell. 
The color to be solid and uniform, over ears, check and boiy, 
from saddle lie over back to tail and down hind feet to feet 
stops. 



THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 65 

Ears, cheek and body 5 

Tail and hind legs 5 

Saddle — A white collar, starting just clear of the front 
legs, running to the ears and in clean cut lines on top and 
underneath body. 

Top part •^> 

Right side ^ 

Left side 5 

Underneath 5 

Blaze on Face — 'The white color appearing in shape of a 
wedge, rounding just clear of the whiskers and becoming nar- 
row at the ears, where it has the appearance of a white cord. 

kaze 10 




PAIR OF DUTCH RABBITS 



Small white mark passing through ears and con- 
necting with white belt T) 

Ears and Neck— Erect, color to be solid and same 
as body. The color around base of each ear should 
be solid and not run into the white. The lines all 

to be clean cut 20 

Eyes — To be rich hazel in blacks and to match the color 
of the body in other colors. 



66 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

Right eye 2.5 

Left eye 2.5 

Stops on Hind Feet — Clean white markings starting about 

one and one-half inches from the toes and should be cut off 

even on both feet. 

Right foot 7.5 

Left foot 7.5 

Size and Shape — To be under five pounds. They should 

appear lively, frame compact and limbs a trifle short. 

Score 10 

Condition of Flesh — Flesh to be firm and solid, the fur 
very close, even and shining. 

Condition of flesh 2 

Condition of fur 3 

Total points 100 




■ — Courtesy of Wm. Smith 

"THESE LITTLE 'RABBITS' WENT 
TO MARKET" 

English Spotted Rabbit 

English spotted rabbits originated in England in the 
late SO's, and are said to have originated from the common 
white smut-nose rabbit. 

This breed is very difficult to get proper marking; much 
more so than any other breed. Besides shape and color, the 
markings that effect every portion of the animal, from nose 
to tail, not only have to be in the right position, but of speci- 
fied shape. 

If the fancier starts with a well marked pair you will 
find, as in all other spotted and belted rabbits, quite a num- 
ber of the young with the proper markings on one side, and 
the other a blank as far as the standard calls for. In the 



THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 67 

English Spots, the points and spots of perfection are more 
numerous and as a consequence this breed is much below that 
of other breeds. 

They are bred in black and white, blue and white, tortoise- 
shell, gray and white, and rarely a yellow and white. The 
black and blues are the commonest breed in the United 
States. 

In describing the points and markings: The no^e should 
have a butterfly with no spots or white hairs, or split but- 
terfly, eyes should have a black circle around each one, all 
spots to be free from the eye circle; ears to be not over 1 
inches in length, to be free from white hairs; chain markings 
to run from top of neck in a link-like formation and run in 
a slanting direction toward the loins, and should start with 
one dot and run in two rows; saddle or herring-bone should 
start between the ears and run in an unbroken line to top of 
back to the tail. Leg markings, a small dot on the elbow of 
each leg; front leg most important. There should be six 
belly or teat spots. This rabbit when well up to the stand- 
ard is a very beautiful animal. 

They are fed the same as any of the middle-weight rabbits. 
The American standard calls for 6 pounds, the English says 
from 6 to 8 pounds. In breeding, never breed two with the 
same markings missing. 

English Spotted Rabbit Standard 

Color — Blue, black, tortoise or gray ; color to be clear and 
the markings to be the same size, color and in the same posi- 
tion on both sides; the color of the fur outside of the markings 
to be white. Right side, 2.5; left side, 2.5. Smut on nose- 
To have the appearance of a butterfly in shape. Color, 5; 
shape, 10. 

Eye Circles and Cheek Spots — Eyes bright and bold. 
Solid colored circles under right eye, 4; solid colored circle 
under left eye, 4; dot on left cheek to be cut clear from eye 
circle, 3; dot on right cheek to be cut clear from eye dot, 4. 

Ears — Not over 4 inches long, good carriage, 4; color to 
be solid, clean cut and free from white hairs, 4. 

The Chain Markings — Named on account of link like for- 
mations; start on top of the neck near the base of the ears, 
and run in a slanting direction towards the loins. They 



6S OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

should start with one dot and run in two rows. Right side, 
6; left side, 6. 

Markings on the Loins — Appear to be a. continuation of 
the chain markings, only the spots are larger. No plain patch 
of white hair should appear between the ending of the chain 
and the starting of the loin markings. Right side, 6; left 
side, 6. 

Teat Markings — Should be six small dots on the white 
belly. Right side, 3; left side, 3. 

Markings on Legs — 'A small dot appearing on the elbow 
of each leg; the front legs are the most important. Hind 
leg, 4; front leg, 4. 

Saddle Markings — A line beginning near the base of the 
ears and running in an unbroken line on the top of the back 
to the tail. It should be very narrow at the start and widen 
out near the rump and again become narrow at the tail. It 
should have hair extending out from the edges in the form 
of a herring-bone. Saddle, 5. 

Size and Condition — Six pounds; the flesh to be firm and 
solid. Fur soft and free from molt, 10; herring-bone, 5. 

The Black and Tan and Blue and Tan Rabbit. 

The Tans were first introduced in England in 1883. In 
type and weight are the same as the Dutch, 3 to 4i pounds 
in weight. As to color, no other is permissable but Black 
and Tan, no White or foreign color. The color, both Black 
and Tan should reach well down to the skin; the same goes 
for the Blue and Tan. The Blue should be a slate blue, the 
same color as a blue Persian cat; the fur should be silky to 
the touch. 

In the Black and Tan, the black is the body color and 
the tan the marking, the official description reads. The 
head and cheeks to be black, that color reaching up to the 
nose point, but with a ring of tan around each eye. Saddle 
back, rump and sides also upper part of tail black; all should 
be free from brindling except sides; sides of rump should be 
thickly laced with long tan hair. The nostrils, jaw, chest, 
belly, flanks and under part of tail should be one solid mass 
of deep golden tan inclined to a red or mahogany tint; the tan 



THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 



89 



should be free from soot or body color. The shoulders or 
neck immediately back of ears should be tanned wide and 
tapered to a fine point, thus forming a triangle; this should 
be large enough to be seen when the rabbit's head is up 
Ea7-s should be fine, short and not tapery, outside jet black, 
well furred; inside laced with tan; ears free from white tips, 
white hairs or brindling. Shape, the shorter the better, coat 
must be fairly short, laying well with the body with a silky 
feel to the hand. Standard is the original English one used 
the world over. 




BLACK AND TAN RABBIT 



Black and Tan 

Points 

BLACK — Dense and sound 10 

TAN — Deep and rich 15 

TRIANGLE 5 

CHEEKS 10 



70 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

FEET— Hind 10 

FEET— Front 5 

CHEEKS, FLANKS AND BELLY. 10 

EARS 5 

NOSTRILS, EYES, JAW 5 

SHAPE— Dutch 10 

EYES— Full 5 

CONDITION 10 

Blue and Tan 

BLUE— Sound ; 10 

TAN— Rich 15 

DISTRIBUTION— As to Black and Tan 40 

SHAPE— Dutch 10 

EARS— Short and Blue 10 

EYES— Blue and Full 5 

CONDITION 10 

The ideal weight 3^ to 4i pounds. 



The Blue Imperial Rabbit 




BLUE IMPERIAL BUCK 



This breed was introduced by Miss Mabel Illingworth oJ 
Braintree, Essex, England. The ideal Imperial is described 
as to shape and size, similar to that of the Belgian, Buck, 



THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 71 

but "shorter in limb." Weight when lull grown, 6 to 7 
pounds. Color dark blue, even shade; fur soft and bright, 
rather longer than most short haired varieties. Head narrow 
and tapering, eyes large and bright and deep blue. Ears AS 
inches long, round at tips, carried erect, set rather close. 

The commonest faults are white hairs, rusty color, brown 
eyes, bars of light or darker shade on feet. 

The original Standard used for years in England are as 
follow^s: 

Points 

SHAPE AND SIZE 25 

HEAD 10 

EARS .. 5 

EYES 15 

COLOR 25 

COAT 15 

FEET . . : 5 

Total points 100 

American Blue Rabbit 

One of the new breeds which has been said to have orig- 
inated from the Blue Vienna. In sliapc they are deicribed 
as Mandoline; in color a deep rich slate blue. Eyes blue; 
toe nails to match. Well adapted for meat and fur. Thp 
Standard fully describes them; 




72 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

American Blue Standard 

SHAPE — Mandoline, compact, broad, meaty back, 
slightly arched back, not flat, medium size bones, 
small dew-lap as possible 20 

COLOR — Rich, clear Slate Blue, with as great a 
depth of color as possible. Should be free from 
all white hairs, sandy, or rusty colors and uni- 
form over the feet, legs, chest, head, ears, body 
and tail 25 

WEIGHT— Bucks and does at maturity, 10 lbs 10 

HEAD — Well shaped, not too long; even color 5 

EYES— To be blue 5 

EARS — ^About five inches in length, narrow, well 
set on and even color 5 

Well developed thighs 10 

LEGS AND FEET — Straight, medium size, dark toe 
nails 10 

CONDITION — Coat to be free from moult and good, 
deep color, free from any stray colored hairs, 
with dense soft, fine silky texture; flesh firm and 
solid 10 

(All general disqualifications, also.) 
Disqualifications — White patches of hair, crooked feet, 
legs or tail; any other colored eyes but blue or lop ear. Faults 
to be severely cut, but not disqualified; stray white hair, 
sandy or rusty, or any other foreign colored hair, uneven color 
on body, legs or loins. Rough or uneven coat. 

Black Siberian 

The rabbit that has caused more controversy than all 
other breeds as to Its origin. It was claimed that they first 
rame from Siberia. It is still an open question among many 
fanciers. The Standard calls for Bucks 9 pounds and Does 
10 pounds. They are getting away from the Flemish type 
and size. The new Standard calls for a bright black sheen 
for coat, free from white hair and as to type a3 near the 
Belgian as you can get. The writer has spent a few seasons 
in. Northern Alaska and found all rabbits and small game 



THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 73 

of the brown shade change to a white in winter as nature 
provides this protection to all animal life in Alaska, and as 
Siberia is only 54 miles from Point Barrow across the ice the 
climatical conditions would be the same in Siberia. They 
should be, Bucks not over 9 pounds; matured Does not over 
10 pounds. Ty2)e same as Belgian Hare. Head medium, not 
too large, having the bulldog appearance as the Flemish. 
Ears large and long, having a tapering shape. Eyes dark 
brown. Does to have as small dewlap as possible. Body 
shapely, similar to Belgian Hare. Type, legs large, long, 
strong, carrying the body well off the ground. Tail very long 
and jet black. Fu7' thick, dense black and of good length with 
a bright sheen. Disqualifications — Color other than Black, 
White Patches, scattered white hairs, severe cuts, etc. 

Angora Rabbit 

All Angora wool used comes from France and Belgium, 
where they raise them by the thousands for meat and wool, 
but from the fineness it is like silk. The wool, when made 
up into yarn, retails for $2.50 to $3 per ounce and not enough 
is made to supply the demand. 

Here is a branch of the industry that the fanciers should 
take up. They are easy to raise, and a pair of breeders can 
be bought at a reasonable price. They are a hardy breed 
and require only a reasonable amount of care. Of course, il 
you are raising for exhibition you will have to do more groom- 
ing and give more attention. 

In breeding, it is advisable to limit each doe to four 
youngsters. Destroy the rest of the litter or use a nurse 
doe, and keep only the largest ard most promising youngsters, 
with big bold head and big bone. The youngsters should be 
separated when six weeks old and put in pairs in separate 
hutches, as they will huddle when kept together and are 
liable to spoil their coats. 

Do not ever wash an Angora in water. If soiled, dust 
with French chalk or corn flour; do not put too much on. 
In exhibiting, always remember that the longest and finest 
haired rabbit, free from mats in the wool, is the one that 
will get the blue ribbon. 



74 



OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 




—Photo by Kadel & Herbert 
PLUCKING ANGORA RABBITS ON A FRENCH FARM— A PROFIT- 
ABLE INDUSTRY OVERLOOKED BY THE 
AMERICAN BREEDER 



THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 75 

Hutches should be large and roomy. You must not ex- 
pect to keep a wool-bearing rabbit in a little 2 by 4 hutch. 
Have hutches as large as you have room for, and clean out 
often. Sprinkle sawdust in corners and bed down. I have 
seen Angoras kept in yards and they looked good and healthy, 
with nice long, clean wool. 

In color, white predominates, although they come in blues, 
blacks, fawns and grays. In competition the colored Angoras 
seldom have a "look-in." 

In describing the Angora, they should have the coat as 
long as possible and of uniform quality, fine soft under-coat, 
having the fleecy appearance of wool, not in any way open 
or have a cottony appearance; the fur on shoulders and chest 
when brushed forward hiding the entire head and gives the 
rabbit the appearance of a big round ball of wool; all four 
feet should be well covered with a deep fringe of wool hang- 
ing from them; ears well covered, should be stout and erect, 
with a tuft of wool on tips if possible. 

In shape, the Angora is cobby, and size is a point that is 
sometimes hard to attain and keep the wool of the highest 
quality. Good small ones are more easy to attain, but what 
is wanted in the show is an Angora that is good and at the 
same time large. 

The eyes should be pink; the coat must be well brushed 
and free from cots or matted fur. 

Standard 

Points 
QUALITY OF WOOL— The texture shall be very 

fine wool, soft body , 20 

FEET AND TAIL— To have thick wool 10 

LENGTH AND QUALITY OF WOOL— Shall be of 

good length, 2^ to 5 inches at 4 months of age. .15 
TAIL AND FEET— Feet to have a fringe of wool 

hanging from them , 10 

HEAD — To have a noble appearance and covered 

with a good quality of wool 5 

CHEST AND HEAD— Chest to have wool as long 

as possible 5 

EARS — Short, stubby and erect; good quality of 

wool and tufts on end of ears. 



76 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

Right ear 5 

Left ear 5 

SHAPE — To be cobby and have the appearance of a 

large white ball 5 

SIZE — Over 6 pounds, with large bones in legs, and 

good, large, round head 10 

CONDITION OF WOOL AND FLESH— Wool free 

from mats and well brushed 5 

FLESH— Firm and solid 5 

Angoras are bred in White, Blue and Blacks, or Smokes, 
as they should be called. Fawns and Grays are also ex- 
hibited. White Angoras should have pink eyes. 

Champagne De Argent 

The Champagne De Argent is known in America as 
French Silver or Champagne Silvers, from its name it is a 
native of France. 

It is one of the greatest fur rabbits in the world, as the 
fur is the same all over, with hardly any waste. 

In 1916 over 200,000 Champagne furs were exported from 
France. This will give you some idea of the value of this 
rabbit as a fur animal. 

In color it is described as having a rich under-color of 
blue intermixed with black and white hairs, the outer cover- 
ing a rich, even silvering, making a striking appearance. 

A matured rabbit should weigh 8 pounds and in shape 
should not be racy or baggy. Hutches should be cleaned often 
so the fur will not get stained. 

The Silvers, when born, are jet black and gradually 
change to a silver ticking; sometimes it will show only in 
spots around the chest and sides, but does not show full coat 
until about 5 months old, and on the second moult shows 
lighter. 

It is better not to keep this breed in the direct rays of 
the sun. In breeding, you should pick the ones with the 
most even, rich silver ticking; all specimens will show a dark 
butterfly smut on the nose. 

The Continental Standard calls for blue under-color good 
and clear, intermixed with black and white hair. 



THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 77 

The silvering must be even all over the body, presenting 
a sharp, bright, silvery appearance, full of life and sparkle. 

The coat must be smooth and soft. The ears must be neat 
and straight, well set on head, rather high in position. The 
body shape must be neat and compact, not bulgy or baggy. 

Condition must be such that the rabbit is clean and lively. 
Eyes bright, coat sleek and smooth, size 8 pounds. 

English Lop-Eared Rabbit 

This breed has two varieties, the English and the French, 

It is recorded as far back as 1850, when they were shown 
in the shows in London, England, in large classes, .for trophies 
and cash prizes for years. 

They were known as the King of the fancy. Where and 
when they originated is not known, but they can be traced 
back for over 100 years. 

Lops in the early stage were different from the lop of 
today. They had great difficulty in getting them bred with 
the ears hanging down as they do today, and in the early 
shows they had different classes. If the specimen had both 
ears with the correct fall it was known as a Double Lop; if 
both ears stood out from the head at right angles it was 
classified as an Oar Lop; if one ear hung down it was known 
as a Half Lop, but these have disappeared, and only the 
Full Lop is now recognized. 

Ears have been produced 28i inches long, the improve- 
ment has all been made by the English fancier, as this 
breed has never been very popular in America, 

They come in all colors, both solid and broken. In a 
show held at Leamington, England, in 1910, twenty lops In one 
class had ears that came to 25 inches in length, the winner 
with an ear 25 inches long and 6^ inches wide. The longest 
ear in the show was 26 inches long, 6| inches wide. This 
goes to show the breeders what can be done with proper 
breeding and attention. 

Lops cannot be raised successfully in out-of-door hutches. 
They should be in good tight hutches, free from draughts. 
Also you must pay particular attention to the ears, as fleas 
are sure to infect the base and inside of ears in a warm rab- 
bitry. 

The young should have ears eleven inches in length at 4 



78 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

months; if they do not come up to that length they will never 
amount to much. 

If you have a youngster that one ear does not lop well, 
you can take a piece of tape, wrap it at the tip and place a 
small weight in the tape, and this will help them to fall. 
The ears should be massaged from the root to the tip; do 
this gently. Vaseline rubbed in well will help the growth. 

To measure the ears, take the flat part of the left ear 
and hold firmly. Place a rule with measure to tip of right 
ear across the head; to get the width of ears, place rule at 
widest part of ears. This breed needs about the same feed 
as any of the larger breeds. 

Standard for Lops 

Length and width of ears — any length of ears — 

RIGHT EAR 12.5 

LEFT EAR 12.5 

WIDTH OF EARS — Any width from widest place 

on ear 19 

THE EARS should be stout, strong and free from 

blemishes 10 

EYES— To be large and bright 6 

SHAPE, SIZE AND TAIL— Body to be large and 
arched. Bucks to we:gh about 10 pounds and 
does 11 pounds and over. Tail straight, not 

wry tail 14 

LEGS AND FEET— Good size and straight 6 

COLOR AND CONDITION— Any color. Flesh 
solid and in healthy condition 20 

100 

White Polish Rabbit 

They are one of the most beautiful of all fancy rabbits, 
never weighing over 3 pounds; the smaller the better. 

As they are a hard rabbit to raise, and have no great 
value except for show purposes is one reason that they have 
never been very popular in the United States. 

The Polish have very short ears, set very close together 
so when you look at them from one side they look like one 
ear, have large blood red eyes; the coat must be very short. 



THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 



79 



the shorter the better, and must have a high sheen; should 
glisten with life. The color should be pure white, the shape 
small and neat. 

It is said that this breed originated from the sports or 
the Belted Dutch rabbit and prior to 1884 any small white 
rabbit was called Polish. The first authentic record of a 
class of Polish was in Hull, England, in 1884. 

It is not necessary to keep them in dark hutches but they 
should be kept out of the direct rays of the sun, as they. 
fade easily. 




A CHAMPION WHITE POLISH 



In feeding grains, give oats and wheat. In summer they 
can be fed green feed, but not cabbage, as they are subject 
to diarrhea, and in feeding roots be sure to cut in small 
pieces. If you give whole roots they will stain their noses 
.and jaws ai? they gna."^*^ into it, 



80 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

Sawdust is the proper bedding. Never bed in hay as the 
dust will get in the fur. Feed just what they will clean up 
and clean the hutch out at least twice each week. The Polish 
are perhaps the least prolific of all rabbits. Five are con- 
sidered a good litter. Much inbreeding has been done in the 
Polish. The young are not as hardy as the other breeds and 
a greater difficulty will be found in rearing them. 

In breeding be sure that the buck and the doe are in the 
pink of condition, have correct type, well coated ears, fine 
bone and rich, blood-red eyes. 

The young should be separated when five or six weeks 
of age. 

Preparing for the show the fancier must remember that 
coat and condition are the strongest points In cleaning to 
remove dirt use bread crumbs, not too dry. They should be 
given a good hand rubbing and finished up with a polishing 
with a chamois skin. 

Never put anything in your shipping coops but sawdust 
and see when they enter the show room that the exhibition 
coop is goo:l and clean and bedded with good clean sawdust. 

Polish Standard 

Points 

COLOR— Rich pure white 14 

SHAPE — Short and neat; weight. 3 pounds 14 

COAT— Short, fine and silkv 26 

EARS — Short, set very close together and well 
rounded. When viewing them irom the side they 
appear as one ear; good fur on base of ear if 

possible 16 

EYES— Large, bold and blool-re:! 16 

CONDITION— Flesh and fur-flesh firm and healthy. 
Fur in fine condition, free from moult or stain. . .14 

Japanese Rabbit 

A rabbit rarely seen in this country, they are described 
as a short, well-shaped body, strong limbs, good shaped head 
with neat ear carriage; should weigh 8 pounds at maturity. 

No set markings, in color from faintest cream tint to a 
deep brick red with patches and spots and stripes of black. 



THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 81 

Care should be used not to expose them to the direct rays of 
the sun as their color readily fades. The Standard describes 
them as to shape and size. Short and thick legs, 8 pounds in 
weight. 

Points 

BODY 10 

LEGS 10 

HEAD — Medium size, well spotted with black 

patches 5 

EARS — Medium size, spotted patches to match 

body 5 

MARKINGS — ^To be irregular and of different 

color 30 

UNDER-COLOR — Shiny and shading from cream to 

brick red 20 

CONDITION OF FLESH AND FUR— Flesh to be 

solid; fur to be soft, close and free from moult. .20 

Silver Brown Rabbit 

The Silver Brown is another breed, they were pro- 
duced originally by mating the Belgian Hare Dos with a light 
Silver Grey Buck, and breeding up to the present perfection. 
They are not as popular as the Silver Grays and do not stand 
up in coloring as long as the Grays and is one of the hardest 
of breeds to keep anyv/here near the Standard. It is near 
impossible to see a real first class Brown. 

The Silver Brown is bred in four distinct colors, Slate 
Blue, Brown, Black and White; the white is the silvering and 
the black the ticking. 

In size and shape almo:t the same as the Silver Grays. 
The English Standard calls for — 

Points 

UNDER-COLOR— Deep rich Chestnut 25 

SILVERING — Evenness throughout 20 

TICKING — Sharp, even and bright 15 

COAT— Short and full 15 

EARS — Neat and well set on 1 ^q 

EYES— Bold and bright ' 

CONDITION AND SHAPE 15 

100 



82 



OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 



Silver Gray Rabbit 



•The Silver Gray Rabbit was known as the Silver Sprig, 
originated in England. In size the Standard calls for 4 to 5 
pounds; in color you will have to imagine a short haired 
black rabbit that has stayed all night out of doors in a cold 
winter and has a covering of frost glistening on his black 
coat; they are exceedingly handsome animals, lively and 
bright and are quite hardy. 

They come in different shades — light, between and 
dark. They have a dark under-color with a white or silver 
ticking. The Standard is used in England where they are 
most popular. 

Standard 

Points 

UNDER-COLOR— Deep rich blue black. 25 

TICKING — Sharp, even and bright 15 

EVENNESS OF SILVER THROUGHOUT 20 

COAT— Full and short 5 

BARS —Neat and well set ^ -, ,j 

EYES— Bold and bright 

CONDITION AND SHAPE 15 



100 




A DBLICJOUS DTSH OF RABBIT AND PUMPLINGS 



THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 83 

THE HAVANA RABBIT 

By Theodore Turner, 

The value of the Havana lies in its adaptibility tor food 
and fur production. Its type is one producing the maximum 
flesh in proportion to offal and at the smallest cost. Its fur, 
especially in the cold months, is extremely dense and very 
valuable for imitations of Hudson Bay Sable and Marten. 
Its size is such that the pelt is matured at the same time thai 
the rabbit is the proper size for market. 

Havanas originated wholly by chance on a farm in Hoi 
land. The first pair were produced by an unknown sire 
and a Dutch marked black and white doe. This occurred 
in 1898. They were shown in Holland the following year and 
in 1903 made their appearance in France, where they were 
quickly taken up and perfected. For that reason they are 
claimed as a production of France, and by some called French 
Havanas. They were first shown under the name of Fire- 
Eyes, due to the red light which will show in their eyes in 
the proper circumstances. Havanas were first imported into 
the United States in 1908. 

Breeding Havanas is the source of great pleasure and no 
small profit. They are very healthy and hardy rabbits, have 
a very pleasing disposition, taming very easily, yet getting 
offended at the first sign of ugliness from their breeder. 
Havanas breed easily the year round, have proven to be won- 
derful producers and are able to rear large litters very well. 
The young grow very fast, usually being fully matured at 
six months. They are born all shades of brown, and with 
an occasional black, white or blue among them. White young 
are valueless and should not be kPi.-t. Black ones, if does, 
may be kept to darken the stud if it has a tendency to be- 
come light. Goudas or Lilacs originated from the Blues. 
The lightest colored young usually prove to be the best show 
specimens, the light color denoting the proper under-color. 

Havanas are very fond of green stuff of all kinds and 
when it is in season will grow and thrive on practically noth- 
ing else. They are also kept in the best condition through 
a liberal feeding of grass, clover and other similar feeds. 



84 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

Proper selection o£ breeding stock is very necessary for 
the success of the beginner. Due to the great popularity of Ha- 
vanas many Havanas or brown crosses from other stock are sold 
as Havanas, but have not the proper characteristics. With 
proper foundation stock, care must be used to breed only 
when the stock is in prime condition, and then breed for the 
bright brown color and the densest fur. Care must also be 
used to keep Havanas from coarseness. 



Standard 

The standard for Havanas. as advocated by the American 
Federation of Havana Rabbit Breeders, :s a^ iollows: 

Points 
COLOR— Rich, BRIGHT Brown on entire body, 
head, feet and ears, with under-colcr of pure 

pale gray 20 

SHAPE AND SIZE — Extreme mandolin type, 
broad behind, narrowing to the front, well 
arched back, short body. Weight from six to 

eight pounds 30 

EARS — Four inches long, narrow, straight and 

carried upright 10 

FEET — Slender and straight, brown toe nails.... 10 
EYES — Large, having gentle expression, color of 

body, but showing a red light in the pupil .... 5 
COAT — Short, silky and heavier than is general. . 20 
CONDITION— Healthy, clean, firm in flesh 5 



THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 85 

THE CHINCHILLA RABBIT 

By Theodore Turner. 

The Chinchilla rabbit is a wonderful fur-bearing possi- 
bility. The fur of this aninial resembles very closely the 
real Chinchilla. The color is the same from the time of 
birth to maturity, making it possible for its fur to be sold 
at any age. Good specimens of this particular rabbit in this 
country are very few. AVe give the views of two breeders. 
— Publishers. 




— Courtesy of Outdoor Enterprise Co. 

A CHINCHILLA DOE 

The color and coat character of the Chinchilla is of the 
utmost importance. The Chinchilla color is produced in the 
following peculiar fashion: Each individual hair consists 
of— firstly, a band of medium gray next to the skin; then 
a band of lighter gray; then a darker band; then a band of 
very light gray and lastly a band of black. The fur, is loose 
and very thick and the surface effect is that of light ajid 
dark gray bands blending into one another. Therefore, with 
the proper color and the proper fur character, a very good 
imitation of the real Chinchilla is produced. 



S() OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIE!^ 

The honor and credit tor producing the Chinchilla rabbit 
belongs to a Serbian who spent quite a few years experi- 
menting to produce a rabbit with the real "Chinchilla lani- 
gera" coat. After he had produced this stock and found it 
bred true to color; he interested one of France's wealthy rab- 
bit men, who took some of his stock and in a short time had 
sown a few Chinchillas all over Europe. This was in 1920. 
The first Chinchillas made their appearance in this country 
in 1921. 

The great value of the Chinchilla lies in its pelts, which 
imitates very well the real Chinchilla, which is now prac- 
tically a thing of the past. Real Chinchilla pelts are worth 
$75.00 each. Chinchilla "rats," the only other imitation for 
the real Chinchilla, are also scarce and very valuable, from 
which you can see the advisability of raising Chinchilla 
rabbits. 

Standard 

Because there is at this time no recognized Standard for 
the Chinchilla, the author submits the following: 

Points 

COLOR — Chinchilla color over entire body, feet, 
head, ears, with the exception of belly, which is 
white. Under-coat full, soft slate 30 

COAT — 'Exceedingly solt and dense, hairs one inch 
long 30 

SHAPE AND SIZE— Mandolin type, size up to 8 
pounds 20 

HEAD AND EARS— Head free from coarseness. 
Ears to be small with darker lines on their 
edges 5 

EYES — Full and round, bright but dark colored .... 5 

FEET — Small, straight and evenly ticked 5 

CONDITION— Healthy, clean, firm of flesh 5 

100 



THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 87 

THE CHINCHIL'LA, ITS SOURCE AND 
HEREDITY 

By 0. E. PoHL. 

The Chinchilla rabbit was first bred by the Serbians and 
during the world war French soldiers occupying this country 
imported these most pleasing little animals to their homes 
in France. On account of the large numbers of foreign sol- 
diers being there, they at once saw the gie.it possibility of 
this breed as a fur rabbit and it spread rapidly all over 
Kurope as well as this country and is known there and here 
as the Chinchilla rabbit. 




— Courtesy of Outdoor Enterprise Co. 

CHAMPION CHINCHILLA BUCK— SENSATION AT 
OMAHA, NEB., 1921 

As to ancestry it is not hard to find the forefathers o' 
this breed. Long before our Christian history a silvered rab- 
bit was bred in India, especially in Siam and Burma, where 
also the white elephants make their home. If we cannot 
say that this rabbit made the trip on Noah's ark, it is written 
in the histories by Buddhist priests, dating back to before 
Christ, that animals of that breed existed in that country. 



88 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

In the beginning of the sixteenth century (1547) these were 
imported to Europe by Portuguese sailors. Also the French 
about 1630 brought specimens of this breed home to France 
with them and later the Spanish also. In the eighteenth 
century this rabbit could be found domesticated in all Latin 
speaking countries, mostly by the efforts of the English it 
spread from England south and west, thereby also reaching 
Serbia about the middle of the last century. 

This rabbit appeared in three different shades, a brown- 
silver, a gray-silver and a yellow-silver, and had the same 
shape and weight as the present Chinchilla. The lightest 
shades of the gray-silver could hardly be distinguished from 
our present Chinchilla and only the breeding of the lightest 
shades to each other, the introduction of animals with long 
black-tipped hair already existing in the forenamed breed, 
and the influence of the Serbian mountain climate was needed 
to produce what all those who see it admire. 

We have now a small rabbit weighing up to 6 pounds 
on the average, but by the use of nurse does it ought not to 
take us long to get the average weight increased to the limit, 
about 8 to 9 pounds. 




A WHITE FLEMISH GIANT 



THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 89 

KUDZU AS A RABBIT FEED 

Kudzu succeeds on land too poor for alfalfa. 

It does not have to be fertilized or limed. 

It enriches poor soil more vapidly and more permanently 
than it can be improved in any other way. 

It will transform non-productive barren hillsides into a 
main resource of the farm. 

It doesn't have to be cut at a certain time to save it. 

A shower of rain doesnt' ruin the hay. 

It makes a good permanent pasture. 

It is not injurious to rabbits and is perfectly safe for all 
stock, when fed either green or dry. (Does not cause sick- 
ness of animals even when overfed.) 

When fed to nursing cows it will produce more milk and 
richer milk than any other one feed. 

It contains more protein than alfalfa or wheat bran. 

Kudzu is a wonderful perennial legume. It is perfectly 
hardy all over the United States and endures the winters 
as far north as Nova Scotia, 

Kudzu springs up from the roots when the first warm 
days come in the spring and grows vigorously until a killing 
freeze comes in the fall. Two cuttings can be made each 
year in the North, and four in the South. Instances are 
known where four cuttings of hay, averaging 2^ tons per cut- 
ting and making a total yield of ton tons per acre in a single 
season, have been made. 

A remarkable feature is that although the hay is richer 
than alfalfa, yet it is entirely free from the tendency to 
cause loose bowels, kidney disorders and bloat. When moist- 
ened, Kudzu hay becomes almost like fresh foilage again and 
makes an excellent green ration for rabbits in winter. 

Kudzu will thrive on any soil, provided the land is well 
drained. Like any other crop, it will make a stronger growth 
on rich land, but it does well on land that is too poor for 
any other hay crop and rapidly improves the soil by draw- 
ing in nitrogen from the air. Poor, worn out land planted to 
Kudzu soon becomes like the rich soil that has been recently 



90 



OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 



cleared from the virgin forest. The soil becomes richer every 
year, and the deep roots live to a great age and become 




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stronger and more vigorous as the years pass by. The roots 
penetrate so deeply as to make it proof against dry weather. 



THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 91 

Kudzu should be given cultivation the first season. 
Some other crop may he planted between each row of Kudzu 
the first season if desired. After this it needs no further 
cultivation, as the vines will run all over the ground the 
next season and take root at the joints, growing so rapidly 
as to choke out all other plants (even such pests as Johnson 
and Bermuda grasses), yet it is an easy matter to get rid 
of Kudzu if desired, for it has a peculiar habit of neither 
blooming or bearing seed under field culture, and the plants 
will only sprout from the crowns and can be killed by cutting 
off these crowns with a disk plow in hot, dry weather. When 
the crowns of Kudzu roots are cut off and exposed to sun- 
shine for half a day or so they are killed, and the roots decay. 
For this reason there is no danger of it ever becoming a 
pest. 

Plant the Kudzu on these hills, about 5 feet apart, on 
plowed strips 5 or 6 feet wide. These strips can be laid off 
10 to 12 feet apart on the cross-way of hillside to prevent 
washing. The second season these hills will be entirely cov- 
ered and sodded with the finest crop of hay or pasture you 
ever saw. 

Kudzu is a native of Japan, where it is a leading hay 
crop, and is highly recommended by the "United States De- 
partment of Agriculture. 

Growers are now propagating it largely by transplanting 
young plants from old Kudzu fields, owing to the fact that 
the seed is very scarce. They prepare the ground the same 
as for a crop of corn, and then check off into rows 8 feet 
apart each way, setting a plant at each check. It takes only 
680 plants to set an acre, so you see it is not as big a job 
as one might imagine, and the time spent is a very small 
consideration when you figure that once you get it planted 
it is there as long as you want it. 

Rabbit and Cavy breeders especially should have a patch 
of Kudzu. A plot 100 feet square will produce enough to feed 
a good sized rabbitry or caviary the year round. It is claimed 
that it can be fed green without affecting th-e stock in any 
way. It is also said that rabbits will leave all other feed 
for Kudzu. 



92 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 



DISEASES OF RABBITS— CAUSES, SYMPTOMS 
AND REMEDIES 

Colds 

Rabbits will be found to take cold quite readily, although 
they are above the average hardiness of people in this re- 
gard. The causes of colds in rabbits and p'eople, however, 
are much the same and in fact, nearly all diseases of rab- 
bits have the same symptoms, the same causes and about the 
same cures as of the same diseas'es in people. 

Changing from warm hutches to cold ones, changing 
from low to high or high to low, where the temperature or 
airing will vary, frightening to the extent that the animal 
gets overh'eated and any other means of changing tempera- 
tures suddenly, either of the animal's body or his hutch, is 
very liable to be the main causes of colds in rabbits. Infec- 
tion due to companionship or mating with another rabbit 
afflicted with a cold will cause it also. 

The symptoms of a cold at first, as in the human, are 
sn'eezing, coughing and thickened breathing. Slightly watery 
eyes indicate colds also. 

The remedy is transference to a newly disinfected hutch, 
where there are no drafts or damp. Feed well on clean food, 
sprinkled well with Ex-Cel-So Tonic and Regulator and com- 
mon table salt, equally mixed, salted on to the grain and 
hay. A hot mash may be given once a day of equal parts of 
bran, crushed oats and linseed cak'e, with a very light sprink- 
ling of cayenne pepper, which will help straighten up the 
sick one's stomach and ward off the cold. 

The best cure, of course, for any trouble, is prevention. 
This is accomplished by th'e application of right principles 
in the start, right housing, right buying, right breeding. 
Right housing will be found well explained in the early part 
of this work. Right buying means the careful avoidance of 
rabbits either infected or in a place containing infected stock, 
right breeding in disease prevention is to breed only healthy 
stock in a healthy place. 



THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 93 

Catarrh 
Catarrh is an advanced stage of cold settling usually in 
th-e nasal passages and the bronchial tubes. It will be dis- 
tinguished by a slight rattling in the nose and the flow of 
a mucous of a thin greenish nature from the nostrils. 
Treat same as for a cold and make up the following prescrip- 
tion, putting the medicine into a small machine oil can for 
convenience in dropping into tire animal's nostrils: 4 ounces 
clear Sweet Oil, 2 ounces Oil of Eucalyptus, 6 drops Turpen- 
tine, 6 drops Coal Oil, 2 ounces Glycerine. Mix the Glycerine, 
Sweet Oil and Eucalyptus Oil together in a warm pan on the 
' back of a stove where it will not be too hot. Take off the 
stove and add the Turpentine and the Coal Oil, mixing thor- 
oughly. Drop six drops of this mixture in each nostril of th-a 
afflicted animal night and morning. Keep the animal in clean 
dry hutches, free from drafts. 

Snuffles 
Snuffles is a case of quick consumption in rabbits and is 
absolutely without any cure. Care must be used, however, 
not to confuse Snuffles with the Catarrh. Snuffles will man- 
ifest itself in a thick whitish mucous from the nostrils, loss 
of appetite, thinness and utter indifference to surroundings. 
When the disease gets to this stag-a the only safety for the 
rest of the stock, and the only right way to relieve the ani- 
mal from its sufferings is a quick sure death. There are 
remedi-es professing to cure Snuffles, but they will be found 
really effective only in cases of Catarrh and Colds. If it 
were possible to cure Snuffles in a rabbit it would be entirely 
practical to use the same remedy to compl-ate curing of the 
human in cases of quick consumption, as the rabbit and 
the human are organically the same. 

STOMACH TROUBLES 

Slobbers 

The first stomach trouble liable to a rabbit in its young 
days is Slobbers. This is shown by a wetness about the 
chin and mouth, caused by derang^ament of the stomach, re- 
sulting in a weakening of the salivary glands. The ducts 
of the salivary glands being weakened, an excessive watering 



94 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

of the mouth results, causing the "slobbers," from which the 
disease gets its name. Improper foods and feeding, some- 
times old or rotten foods getting in the youngster's way, and 
generally an attempt to eat too early in life, are some of the 
causes of this trouble. Be sure to have the n-est boxes made 
with the entrance holes high so the youngsters cannot get 
out on the floor too early to eat. They should never be out 
b'cfore fourteen days anyway and eighteen is better. See that 
the hutches are kept well cleaned or else built on the self- 
cleaning style. 

First, separate all the youngsters whose jaws are wet, 
as th-e trouble is contagious by contact with the slobbers on 
the food. For these separated youngsters see that they have 
six drops of sweet Spirits of Nitre to each cup of drinking 
v/ater. Feed as usual, excepting that you should substitute 
dry or toasted bread for grain. 

Make a ration salt as follows: 

One part Ex-Cel-So Tonic and Regulator, one part com- 
mon table salt, and then to one pound of the above mix- 
ture add one-half teaspoonful of common table soda. Mix 
thoroughly and place in small salt shakers to be dusted on 
the grain ration or the bread ration at each feeding, salting 
the grain or bread with this mixture just a little each time, 
as you would your own food. It must be remembered thai 
the rabbit in a hutch cannot get out to select his herbs as 
he might in the wild state and that the above salting is 
necessary to his health. This salting should therefore be 
done for all rabbits as a stomach trouble preventive, or, a bet- 
ter way is to hang an Ex-Cel-So Salt spool in the hutch. 
These spools are made for that purpose. 

When the youngsters are first found with the slobbers 
they should be taken up and a mixture of half and half of 
common table salt and baking soda rubbed on the wet jaws. 
Repeat twice a day until the troubl-e is cured, which it will 
be in a few days if the case has not been left to advance too 
far. 

Constipation 

Constipation is sometimes caused by the water and some- 
times by the food,. but is rather a rare disease in rabbits. 

May be known by an extreme hotness of the ears and a 
general dumpiness or lack of energy in the rabbit. 



THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 95 

Dust powdered licorice root on the food night and morn- 
ing and give a littl-e milk to drink instead of water. 

Diarrhoea 

Frequently caused by eating green food too young or by 
other poor food. May be noticed by the droppings being 
soft and shapeless when they really should be round and 
firm. Equal parts powdered Arrow Root, common table salt 
and common baking soda dusted v/ell over the ration will 
have a good effect. Feed toasted pieces of bread instead of 
grain and give tea leaves from th-e kitchen after the tea has 
been used, which the rabbit should eat readily. The trouble 
will be found principally in the young, but may occur in 
older stock. Not dangerous if handled early. 

Pot Belly 

An extra large fulln-ess of the abdomen caused by too 
much green or wet foods. Really a sort of permanent bloat, 
which while not very dangerous in itself is ruinous to the 
appearance of such rabbits as the Belgian Hare where shap-e 
is a requisite to value. To prevent this do not feed root 
crops or greens so heavily, but in the case of young stock 
showing a tendency toward the trouble feed dry grains, clean 
dry hay and give only what water thej'' will drink in twenty 
minutes twice a day. Powdered licorice root to act as a 
mild physic will help take down the bloated or "pot" effect. 

Red Water 

An excessive redn-ess of the urine, caused by deposits in 
the kidnej'^s, sometimes due to the water given and some- 
times due to the food containing minerals. Sweet Spirits of 
Nitre, on-e teaspconful to each half pint of drinking water 
is a good remedy. See that the rabbit has plenty of clean 
clear water always at hand, properly fixed with the Nitre. 
As soon as the urines assume the natural color, a light yel- 
low, discontinue th-e Nitre. 

Ear Canker 

This affection is not at all dangerous if any care at all 
is used with it. The trouble appears generally as a scab in 
either or both ears and if allowed to run on will fill the ear. 

Mix up the following prescription and have it in a small 
machine oil can handy to drop a f*ew drops in each affected 
ear night and morning. No other treatment need be ap- 
plied, except that it will be well to massage the ear a little. 



96 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

working it gently round and round. Even if you do not do 
this it will work out all right in thre-s to four days. But do 
not poke sticks or other attempts to clean out the ear. The 
prescription for tlie oil to be used follows: Cottonseed oil, 
4 ounces; Turpentine. 6 drops. 

Abscesses 
These are th'e gathering of matter under the skin of the 
rabbit, generally along the back or under the neck. They 
may be caused by a bite, a scratch or a protruding nail in 
the hutch. Wait until the abcess appears to be full size, 
when it will g*et quite soft. Carefully cut away the hair 
from around the place of incision or cutting of the abscess, 
which you will do at the base or side of it and not on the 
top of it, as it will clean out so much better. 

Have someone help you hold the rabbit. Make rather a 
long incision at the sid-e of the abscess and if the pus is in 
a sac be careful not to cut the sac if you can help it, as it 
will be a cleaner job if you can remove the sac entire. 

After the pus or sac is removed and the pocket is well 
cl-eaned out, have a pan of hike warm water into which two 
tablespoonfuls of Listerine have been poured. Wash the 
pocket out well with this Listerine water and then with clear 
Peroxide of Hydrogen, full strength. Fill the pockat pretty 
well with Carbolated Vaseline and squeeze it out again, leav- 
ing little or none for the rabbit to lick off, which it will be 
sure to do if possible. 

Spotted Liver 

Heavy breathing in rabbits is often laid to lung or bron- 
chial troubles when the real cause lies in what is known as 
Spotted Liver. This is generally a deposit of lime or some 
sodium or salts on the liver and may be caused by bad food, 
by poor water or by hay or alfalfa grown in marshy or salty 
soil. There is no cure, once the disease finds a good hold, 
but it is comparatively easy to prevent. 

If you are not where you can obtain dandelions in the 
wild state and dry them yourself you will need to buy dande- 
lion root at the drug store. By using the followijig salt 
ration regularly and keeping it in your salt shaker to dust 
a little on EVERY grain ration that you feed, you will pre- 



THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 97 

vent all kidney and liver trouble as well as practically all 
stomach troubles in both old and young stock. 

Ex-Cel-So Tonic and Regulator, 1^ lbs.; common table 
salt, 11 lbs.; common baking soda, 1 tablespoonful; powdered 
dandelion root, 1 tablespoonful; powdered licorice root, 2 
tablespoonfuls. Mix all together thoroughly and sift through 
an ordinary flour sieve. Kleep in tightly closed can to main- 
tain the strength of the herbs and to prevent the salt gath- 
ering moistur-e. 

For regular use have a large salt shaker and supply it 
from the large closed can as needed. If care is used to dust 
this salt on EACH ration of grain, the larger part of the rab- 
bit diseases will be prevented, especially all those relating to 
the stomach, liver and kidneys. 

Paralysis and Convulsions 

This disease may occur to any rabbit, but is especially 
prevalent in young stock. At first will be noticed a stiffness 
in the hind legs, followed a few hours later by a dragging 
of th-e limbs about on the floor. About this time convulsions 
will appear, causing spasmodic movements of the sufferer, re- 
sulting in death in considerable pain in a few hours. There 
is no known cure for the disease, which is almost always 
caused by malnutrition or the lack of vitality due to mal- 
nutrition in the parents. This lack of nutrition may be 
caused by the kind of food fed, rather than by the lack of 
th-e food. Rabbits require a variety enough in their diet to 
furnish the salts, phosphates, proteins and hydros necessary 
for building the blood and bones of the animal. 

The prevention of the disease, therefore, will be found 
in the prop-er care as to the feed and the water given the 
rabbits, more especially to the breeding does and bucks. As 
the trouble is due to lack of vitality also, the necessity of 
care is not overusing the bucks or the does as breeders will 
be easily seen. Take very careful note on the principles laid 
down in the section on breeding. 

Vent Diseases 

V'ent Disease is caused by mating with unclean specimens 
and sometimes by filthy floors in hutches. The preventives 
are, clean hutches, which it is hoped that every reader of this 



98 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

book is a crank on, and another preventive, and th-e main 
one, is care to examine both specimens BEFORE mating them. 
The trouble is easily detected by an inflamed or reddened 
appearance of the generative organs of the animals. If this 
condition is observed make an ointment as given below and 
apply it well to the affected part twice daily. Keep the 
rabbit in clean, disinfected hutch and do not breed so long 
as the slight'est sign of the disease remains. 

The ointment is made up as follows: 

Carbolated vaseline, one ounce; powdered sulphur, one- 
half teapsoon; common baking soda, just a small pinch on the 
end of a pocketknife. Mix well and us'e as a salve. 

Skin Disease 
Usually caused by filthy conditions but may occur in a 
well regulated rabbitry by other sources of infection than 
the direct uncleanness of a hutch. It generally appears in the 
form of a germ called mange and may be noticed by the hair 
falling out on the affected part and a general scaliness or 
scalded appearance of the skin at the place. The ointment 
given above for vent disease will prove entirely sufficient if 
applied twice daily and well rubbed in. Do not leave too 
much surplus ointment on the place as tlra rabbit will be sure 
to lick the spot or rub it with its paws and then lick the 
paws, which may make it ill if too much of the ointment is 
left on the place to be licked off. 

Sore Hocks 

May be caused by filthy hutches, by frozen or cold urine 

and dirt on the floors, or by oth-er infection. It will appear 
on the bottoms of the hocks of the rabbit in the hind feet as 
first a swollen place and then matter will gather in the sore 
places and the rabbit will move about with apparent pain 
and will not slap the foot on the floor in th-e natural way of 
the rabbit when aroused or fearful. 

The condition is easily overcome by using the ointment 
given as a remedy for vent trouble. This will probably be 
found to be the b-est all around general ointment to have about 
the rabbitry that can easily be procured. Apply the oint- 
ment after soaking the hocks of the affected animal in warm 
water for a few. minutes to loosen the skin and open the 
pores. If matter has gathered in the sores, which is some- 
times the case, have some one help you hold the rabbit while 



THE RABBIT INDUSTRY 99 

you gently open the places with a sharp knife. Wash out well 
with Peroxide of Hydrogen or with Listerine. Fill the place 
with the ointment and then place the rabbit in a clean dis- 
infected hutch, with a bedding of two inches of clean straw 
in the bottom. Keep th*e patient under these conditions until 
well. 

General Remarks 

It may be assumed from the perusal of the numerous dis- 
eases listed above that the rabbit is a very easily deranged 
animal, but such is not the cas-e. Of all the domestic ani- 
mals the rabbit is the healthiest and far more so than chick- 
ens could possibly be under the same conditions. The large 
chances are that one following the precepts laid down in the 
•earlier portions of this work, especially as to cleanliness and 
regularity, will have few if any of the diseases listed and 
certainly not very many of them in the course of many years. 

Some rabbitries go from one year's end to the other and 
NEVER n-eed to doctor one rabbit, by reason of the care and 
judgment they use in the general prevention of disease. 
The only source of disease you need fear is outside infection 
through purchase or br-eeding to disea^^ed stock, and this 
book has already thoroughly instructed you as to that. 

MONEY IN RABBITS 

Information concerning the rabbit here given is from a 
source of reliability and experience. Large profits can be 
realized from this enterprise if the instructions mentioned 
herein are carried out, as no previous experience is neces- 
sary to make a success. Rabbit culture in this country is 
yet in its infancy, yet is taking very fast in all parts of 
the Union. Those who enter the business now with deter- 
mination to get ahead have every opportunity of doing so 
and building very prosperous circumstances. These instruc- 
tions will enable you to make the attainment and the result 
will be of profit and of pleasure; first, because there is 
much money to be made in rabbit raising; secondly, there 
is no other enterprise which affords more pleasure to the 
individual than do-es the raising and care of rabbits. 



100 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

THE CAVY INDUSTRY 

By Edwin F'. Deicke, Cavy Judge. 
Illustrations by Courtesy of Author 

Characteristics of the Cavy 

THE Cavy, commonly known as "Guinea Pig," is a mem- 
ber of the rodent family, although it does not gnaw, 
scratch or bite. It is a very gentle little animal and is 
entirely in a class by itself. It resembles neither the rabbit 
nor the rat, and by no means does it resemble the real pig, 
by which I mean the barnyard hog, which some people think 
is the case, because of its nick-name, Guinea Pig. 

It is different from practicallj^ every kind of animal, in 
that it does not have a tail, and that is where the old joke 
about the Cavy originated — "Pick it up by its tail and its 
eyes will drop out." 

The Cavy, when fully matured, weighs about two pounds. 
It matures at the age of about six months. Cavies, when 
born, weigh from three to five ounces, and at the age of four 
weeks will weigh ten ounces, at which weight they are at 
the proper marketable size. Cavies breed at the age of four 
months, and the period of gestation is from 60 to 70 days. 
Cavies are born with their eyes wide open and will start 
eating food practically the same day they are born. In this 
respect they are quite different from the rabbit, which does 
not open its eyes until nine days old. 

Cavies are very interesting and at the same time they 
are very profitable. They require but little food, room and 
attention. It is estimated that each female of breeding age 
will net its owner a clear profit, above all expenses of at 
least $5.00 a year when properly cared for. Cavies are so 
interesting and fascinating that they instantly appeal to 
anyone who sees them, and they become even more inter- 
esting when one learns of their usefulness and the profits 
that can be made from raising them. 

Feeding 
If Cavies are properly fed, you will never experience any 
difficulty in raising them successfully. The Cavy, like any 



THE CAVY INDUSTRY 



101 



other animal or bird, if not properly fed will not thrive as it 
should, and, therefore, proper attention should be paid to 
the feeding. 

During the summer months, dandelions make the very- 
best kind of food, and dandelions may be obtained in almost 
all parts of the United States. They just wax fat on dande- 
lions and they certainly like dandelions above any other 
kind of green food. Cavies cannot be over-fed. They take 




EDWIN F. DEICKE 
Cavy Judge 

care of this themselves and do not eat more than what is 
good for them. Therefore, feed them all they want. In 
addition to dandelions, during the summer you may feed 
lawn clippings, lettuce, cabbage, green alfalfa and clover, 
and any other vegetables you may best be able to procure. 
In addition to green food, they should have clean oats and 
hay once a day. Oats may be fed either whole, rolled or 
Steel-cut, which ever way it can be obtained the cheapest. 



102 



OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 



Timothy hay is best for them, and it should be fed rather 
than alfalfa, as alfalfa is too rich for the Cavy. Use prairie 
hay if timothy hay is not available. 

During the winter, carrots and mangel-wurtzels make the 
best kind of green food. Therefore, it is advisable to put in 
a patch of carrots and mangels during the summer so you 
will have them for the winter. Grass and other greens are 
usually gone by the first of October, and then you will have 
to start feeding carrots. If you are not able to raise the 
carrots and mangels yourself, then it is best to buy them in 
the fall, for at that time of the year you can obtain them 



FACE \ 



E/IRS 



SHOULDER 



BACK 




HlNDau'\RTERS 



from the Truck Farmers for about $5.00 to $12.00 a ton, de- 
pending on your location. If you feed both mangels and 
carrots, then feed carrots one day and mangels the next day. 
But either one of these roots may be fed alone and exclu- 
sively all winter, together with hay and oats. 

Dry bread is also a good food for them. This need not be 
soaked, but is best to feed this dry. Cavies do not need any 
water at all, if you feed them enough green food, which you 
should do. Under no circumstances should you feed po- 
tatoes, as they are not good for them. 

Housing 
Proper housing for Cavies is very essential in order to 
be successful. The main thing in housing, however, is to 
see that they are located free from all drafts. Nothing will 
kill a Cavy quicker than when subjected to drafts from which 
it cannot get away. Drafts on Cavies will develop into colds, 
and colds into pneumonia, and then your Cavy is a has-been. 



THE CAVY INDUSTRY 



103 



Therefore, provide good, comfortable housing for your Cavies 
where they are free from, drafts, and where they get sun- 
shine at least part of the day. Hutches as illustrated in this 
chapter are very practical and used successfully by many of 
the modern Cavy Breeders. 

"Cleanliness is next to Godliness." This also applies to 
Cavies. Be sure that your hutches are cleaned once a week. 
Oftener is not necessary, but they should be cleaned each 
week. The Cavy is absolutely the cleanest animal in the 
world, and therefore it insists on being kept clean and in 
sanitary quarters at all times. After cleaning the hutch it 
is best to disinfect and place shavings on the floor, which 






FOUR AND FIVE SECTIONAL HUTCH K.-^ 



make the floor nice and dry and comfortable for the Cavies, 
During the summer time you may keep your Cavies in 
hutches outside or even provide runs for them if you wish, 
but during the winter they should be kept inside, either in 
a warm building or a basement. The basement is an ideal 
place to keep them. They are clean and there is no odor 
connected with them; but be sure that your basement is dry 
and not damp, and place them where the sunlight will face 
them: Cavies prefer as much as possible an even temperature, 
and, if possible, you should arrange to keep them this way. 



104 



OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 



Breeding 

Careful attention should be paid to the breeding end of 
the Cavy business. Do not breed a Cavy if it is not in the 
best of health and condition. It not in good condition when 
mated, they will produce inferior stock and many times both 
the mother and young will die. Therefore, mate your stock 
only when in good condition. 




WHITE CAVIES, THREE WEEKS OLD 

Females may be bred when four months old and males 
when five months old. If, however, they have not attained 
mature size when four months old, then it is better to wait 
another month. It takes from 60 to 70 days for females to 
have young. They produce from one to six young at a time, 
and sometimes as high as eight, but this is a very unusual oc- 
curance. Three is a very safe average. 

Immediately after they are born they can be seen running 
around their mother with their eyes wide open. They are 



WKfM 






Ei^i 




HH| 


M 


i^M 


'"'^^ 


J 




^ 


rUH 






1^'. 


'4^^^^ 


ujtjiM 


iHII 






ii 




^m 



SOLID BLACK AND WHITE CAVIES 



THE CAVY INDUSTRY 



105 




106 



OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 



very hardy when they are first born. Mother Cavies do not 
make nests before giving birth, and nest boxes are not neces- 
sary for Cavies. 

When a female is about to have young it is best to place 
her in a hutch by kerself where she is not disturbed. If 
left together with other Cavies, she is sometimes injured, 
and this would easily cause premature birth, resulting many 
times in the loss of the mother. 




CAVY SHIPPING CRATE 

One male and four females make a properly mated pen. 
When the females show signs of being heavy with young, 
then separate and place by themselves. Females are usually 
bred as soon as placed with the male. 

When females have young, leave the youngsters with the 
mother until three weeks old and then separate them, placing 
the males by themselves and also the females by themselves. 
This is necessary as they become sexually mature when only 
about four and five weeks old, and therefore it is not advis- 
able to leave them together. After weaning the young, give 



THE CAVY INDUSTRY 



107 



the mother a rest of one week, and then place her again with 
the males by themselves and also the females by themselves. 
By doing this you can safely raise four litters a year from 
each female without injuring her. A female is good for 
at least six years of breeding, and in some cases females 
have successfully raised young for nine years. 

Commercial Use of Cavies 

Cavies are useful for medical work, food, fur and fancy. 
Their usefulness in the medical field is almost beyond com- 
prehension. Practically every hospital and physician uses i 
Cavies off and on in their medical work. Every university 
and medical college keeps large quantities of Cavies on hand 
for research work. Every laboratory needs Cavies. One 
laboratory near Chicago alone uses 25,000 Cavies each year. 




FINE SPECIMENS OF CREAM, BLACK AND WHITE CAVIES 

Another institution near Philadelphia uses approximately 
50,000 baby pigs a year, and another institution near New 
York City uses about 40,000 a year. They are also used in 
large quantities on the Pacific Coast. The Government is 
also a heavy buyer of Cavies and they use them at their 
various Research Stations. 

The above is merely to give a slight idea of the vast 
quantities in which they are used, and this will give you an 
idea of the large commercial demand for Cavies. The de- 
mand for baby pigs is at nearly all times of the year ahead 
of the supply. Most laboratories desire them when from 
nine to twelve ounces in weight, and again others want them 



108 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

of a larger size. Some desire only males and others want 
only females, but the majority of them do not care whether 
they get males or females, so long as they are healthy. 

The Cavy is generally known as the "LIFE SAVER," be- 
cause it gives its own life to let others live. Some people 
have the idea that it is cruel to use Cavies for this pur- 
pose, but at the same time we all have to admit and agree 
that it is better to take the life of an animal than the life 
of a HUMAN. The Cavy is absolutely the best animal to 
use for this purpose, as they are very easy to handle, do not 
scratch nor bite, and are very quick to show symptoms of 
irregularity. 




TWO CHOICE BLACK SPECIMENS 

The Cavy is also good for food. The meat value of the 
Cavy can hardly be estimated. It is regarded far more nu- 
tritious than most any other kind of meat. Many banquets 
are held where the Cavy is the main item on the menu. Al- 
though, because of the scarcity of stock for this purpose, it 
will probably be some time before they will be more generally 
used for food purposes. There are many ways of preparing 
the Cavy, and they can be prepared about the same as the 
rabbit. 

Their fur, too, is of great value, and is very adaptable 
to many purposes. Caps, gloves and even coats are being 
made of their furs. When the supply of Cavies becomes more 
abundant, then their fur, no doubt, will be more commer- 
cialized. 



THE CAVY INDUSTRY 



109 



The Cavy, like nearly every other animal, has its place 
in the "SHOW WORLD." Practically every live stock show 
has an exhibit of Cavies, and no show, large or small, is 
complete without a display of Cavies. The best displays are 
usually found at the Chicago Coliseum, the Madison Square 
Garden at New York, the Los Angeles Live Stock Exposition, 
and also at other big shows, such as are held at Boston, 
Cleveland, Kansas City, St. Louis, Colorado Springs, and 
other places. A visit to any of these shows will convince 
one of the popularity of the Cavy, and the demand that ex- 
ists for fancy, well-bred stock. 




PAIR OF CUP WINNERS 

Various Breeds 

Cavies come in the following breeds and colors: 

f White 
Black 
Cream 
Red 

Chocolate 
ENGLISH SMOOTH-HAIR. { Tortoise anl White 

Dutch Marks 
Himalayans 
Brindles 
Silver Agouti 
Golden Agouti 
Mixed colors 

Cream 

White 

Black 

Red 

Chocolate 

Mixed colors 



ABYSSINIANS 



110 



OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 



PERUVIANS 



ANGORAS 



[Red 

Cream 

Black 
I White 
[ Mixed colors 

Black 

Red 

White 

Cream 

Chocolate 

Mixed colors 



As you can see by the above, there is certainly a large 
variety of color to choose from and also have you got four 
distinct breeds to select from. There is nothing monot- 
onous about the Cavy business. There is an equal demand 
for the various colors, but the demand for the Abyssinians, 
Peruvians and Angoras is rather limited, because they 
are used and bred almost entirely for the show room, as 
they are not practical for medical experimental work on 
account of their long hair. 

The smooth haired Cavy, as you can tell by the name, 
has a smooth coat of hair, while the Abyssinian's fur is 
rosetted, its hair being short and wiry. The Peruvian 
has long and silky hair flowing both backward and forward 
so that it is entirely covered with its silky hair. The Angora 
is similar to the Peruvian, only its long silky hair flows only 
backward and does not cover its head, as the Peruvian. 




THE MILK GOAT INDUSTRY 111 

THE MILK GOAT INDUSTRY 

By Dr. C. E. Leach 

THIS is not written with any thought of making it a 
complete treatise on the Milk Goat, but it is with the 
hope that it will be complete enough to enable the reader 
to obtain a fair understanding of the industry and enable 
the would-be breeder to avoid the mistakes that have been 
made by the pioneers in goat breeding. 

We have three standard breeds of milk goats in the 
United States at the present time, viz: Toggenberg, Saanen 
and Nubian. 

We also have the Royal Murciana and the Alpine, for 
which no standard has been set. 

The Toggenberg is a native of the Toggenberg Valley cf 
Switzerland. It is a fawn or brown goat with lighter legs 
and brindle markings. The bucks are rather long-haired, but 
the hair of the does should be shorter. They have small up- 
standing ears. 

The Saanen is a white goat from the Saanen Valley of 
Switzerland. Like the Toggenberg, the buck has rather long 
hair, but the does should be smooth coated. They have small, 
upright ears. 

The Nubian is native stock from India and Africa which 
was taken to England and there crossed with the native Eng- 
lish milk goat, and is therefore an English goat and not a 
Swiss goat. Nubians are any color, and are distinguished by 
their large, drooping ears, almond shaped eyes and nostrils, 
roman nose and large size. Both male and female should be 
smooth-coated. 

Anyone interested in the complete standard for these 
breeds can obtain same by writing to Will L. TeWalt, Vin- 
cennes, Ind., who is secretary of the American Milk Goat 
Record Association. 

There is now a move on foot to develop what is called 
Free-Bred Goats. This is a eross or crosses of the three stand- 
ard breeds. J. A. Winans, 4571 Pasadena Ave., Los Angeles, 



112 



OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 



Calif., is secretary of this movement. No doubt there will 
be one or more very good strains of milk goats developed from 
these crosses. 

Horns are gradually being bred off all the breeds until 
now we have most of the stock born hornless. 

In the United States we have registry associations for 
each breed and also the American Milk Goat Record Associa- 
tion. This association registers does containing 50 per cent 
or more pure blood of any breed and only pure bred bucks. 

The breeders of each breed claim special merit for the 
breed they own. Perhaps it is more a matter of choice than 
any real difference in economic value. 




— Courtesy of R. R. Glahn 



SAANEN DOE 



Feed 

In manger feeding we prefer alfalfa hay, though we have 
had fair success with oat hay. Almost any grain is good. 
We usually feed oats or corn preferring the oats. Kaffir corn 
is fine when obtainable. Bran or shorts mixed to a thin mash 
with warm water is excellent. Beet pulp, carrots, oil meal, 
etc, are good. 



THE MILK GOAT INDUSTRY 113 

For pasture, we like alfalfa, rye or oats. Goats are very 
fond of most weeds and brush. They do not like rape, sudan 
grass, blue grass or prairie hay. 

We are often asked if alfalfa will kill goats. We have 
pastured it under all conditions and have never had one show 
signs of bloating from it. However, when first turning them 
on it in the spring, we feed dry hay, morning and night, 
for a while, turning the goats on the pasture days only. 

ALL FEED MUST BE CLEAN. 

They should have access to clean water all the time. 
Warm water in winter, especially for milking does, is well 
worth the extra expense and trouble. 

Method for Manger Feeding 

We have found after many expensive experiments that 
the following manger is the only practical one. 

Fig. I shows a ten inch board cut to shape. A fourteen 
foot board, ten inches wide, cuts just right for four pieces. 

Fig. II shows the side of the manger. The board. Fig I, 
should be nailed to two-by-fours, top and bottom, A and A. 
These boards should be spaced three and one-half inches apart, 
leaving the slot C three and one-half inches wide. If it is 
narrower it is too small for the goat's neck. If larger, the 
kids will get through into the manger. The notch B should 
be cut two inches into the board, thus leaving the diameter 
of the opening B, Fig. II, seven and one-half inches. 

A one-by-two inch strip is nailed to the inside of the 
manger twelve inches above the floor of the manger as E, 
Fig. II. Strips D three and one-half by twelve inches are 
nailed to the two-by-four A at the bottom and to the strip 
E at the top. 

Fig. Ill shows a grain box which is nailed to the inside 
of the manger and on top of the strip E. The high back on 
the feed box is to prevent the neighboring goat from stealing 
the feed. 

G is a wire hook made from number nine wire. It should 
be jointed two-thirds of the distance from where it fastens 
on the manger to the hook end. After the goat has placed 
her head through the opening B the hook is dropped into 
gtaple at left of opening and the goat is stanchioned. 



114 



OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 









Q. 




THE MILK GOAT INDUSTRY 



115 



This style manger may be placed near a wall, using the 
wall for one side. If this method is used, the manger should 
he set twenty inches from the wall. 

If the barn is twelve or more feet wide, it makes a good 
arrangement to have the manger set in the middle of the 
barn, making both sides alike. If this method is used, the 
two sides should be set three feet apart, having one end 
fastened to one side of the barn and the other end within 
three or four feet of the opposite side of the barn. This gives 
a double manger with the goats facing each other and eat- 
ing from the same manger. 




— Courtesy of C. E. Leach 

INKl'O MULEY HASSAN 
The Most Wonderful Buck in America — Pure-Bred Nubian 

If one wishes to go to a little more expense and work, it 
is quite an improvement to raise the entire manger six 
inches off the floor and put in a false floor on a level with 
the manger floor. This false floor is made of slats set just 
far enough apart to permit the droppings to fall through. 
The false floor should be made in sections and so placed that 
it can be raised or removed to permit cleaning. 



116 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

Breeding 

The breeding season is in the fall, though occasionally 
the does come in at other seasons of the year. In breeding 
season they usually come in heat about every three weeks. 

The period of gestation is five months. Some breeders 
breed their spring kids the following fall, while others wait 
a year longer. We prefer the latter method to give the young 
does opportunity for development. 

The best buck obtainable is the cheapest to breed to, no 
matter what the charge for the service fee or the price of the 
buck. The increased value of the kids and the satisfaction 
of building up the herd is worth more than any extra expense 
incurred. 

Kids and Their Care 

Does usually produce twins or triplets. 

There are several ways to proceed with the kids. We take 
the kids away from dam as soon as they are born, drying 
them well and placing them in a warm, dry place. When 
the kids are two or three hours old, we take the first milk 
from the doe, placing it in a small pan, warming it to about 
blood temperature, and feed it to the kid. Usually all that 
is necessary, if not allowed to suck the dam at all, is to place 
the kids nose in the milk and it will drink. Occasionally we 
have to use a spoon the first feeding or two, but after that 
they will always drink out of a pan with no trouble. 

Others prefer to use an ordinary nursing bottle and "bottle 
feed" the kids. But this method makes much unnecessary 
work and expense. 

Others let the mother raise the young. The last named 
is the easiest method, but is not the best method to develop 
good milkers from the dams, especially if the kids are allowed 
to suck the first time or two she is fresh. 

Be careful ahout over-feeding the kids. They cannot be 
fed too often, but if forced to go too long between feeds they 
get so hungry that they over-eat and become scoured. We feed 
the kids five times a day the first week, then cutting down to 
four times the next week, then to three times a day for the 
next few weeks, then to two times a day as long as we have 
milk for them and they will drink it. 

A kid may be taken off of milk entirely at six weeks of 



THE MILK GOAT INDUSTRY 



117 







118 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

age and raised on dry feed, but it pays to continue the milk 
for twelve weeks or more. 

When the kids are a week to ten days old they will start 
nibbling at hay. From then on we keep a little good, clean 
hay where they can reach it at all times. When about three 
weeks old we give them access to bran and cracked corn or 
oats. 

We have had no success with prepared calf meals or 
lamb meals. 

Kids like a small box, well bedded, in which to sleep. 



— Courtesy of Dr. C E. Leach & Son 
A PURE NUBIAN DOE 

Housing and Feeding 

Goats do not require a particularly warm house, but it 
should be dry and free from draughts. The old ones, like 
the kids, like to have a cozy place to sleep. In winter, espe- 
cially, a small barn is preferable to a large one. 

The pen need not be large if it is well drained. Two or 
three does can be easily kept on the back end of a city lot. 
Four foot woven wire fencing with a barbed wire at the top 
is sufficient to hold them. It is economy to buy the heaviest 
woven wire as the goats are prone to stand on it with their 
front feet and they soon destroy the lighter weight wire. 

Goats' Milk 
Goats differ as much in quantity and quality of milk as 
do cows. The same doe will vary according to her age, feed 



THE MILK GOAT INDUSTRY 119 

and care. Perhaps the large majority of goats give from two 
to four quarts of milk per day. There are many, however, 
giving from four to six quarts per day and a few that will 
give even more than this. 

The milk is as sweet and delicious as cows' milk, only 
richer and whiter in color. It averages from five to seven 
per cent butter fat, and some tests considerably higher th m 
that. 

The composition of goats' milk as published by the United 
States Experiment Station is as follows: 

Fat 5.99 

Solids not fats 10.97 

Total solids 16.96 

Sugar 4.93 

Protein 4.63 

• Water 83.04 

The milk is very easily digested, because the globules are 
much finer than the globules in cows' milk. 

Most of the imported cheese is made of goats' milk. 
Butter made from the cream is excellent. It is white 
unless coloring is used. 

Goat milk sells from twenty-five to fifty cents per quart; 
its greatest value is perhaps in infant feeding and for in- 
valids, although it is unsurpassed for family use. 

Infant Feeding 

There are so many things to consider, and so many 
conditions, that each case must be considered individually to 
quite an extent, though there are general rules and principles 
that can be followed. 

We can give no better suggestions than those written 
down by Dr. Carl G. Wilson of Palo Alto, California and pub- 
lished in the Angora Journal, Portland, Ore. Dr. Wilson is a 
man of experience in medicine and is considered an authority 
on goat-raising and the use of goat milk. 

"In approaching this subject, I must frankly admit I do 
so with considerable reluctance, as there are so many angles 
of approach, conditions, chemical compositions, environment 
of the producer of the milk and the consumer, that I fear foi' 
too deep a consideration of the subject, and fail in the very 
object of this paper, namely, to give a few simple, practical 



120 



OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 



suggestions on infant feeding and broadly suggest plans and 
formulas for feeding. 

"I am irrevocably convinced that goats' milk is the best 
substitute human milk for infant feeding, not only because of 
its close similarity, chemically and physically, but also the 
readiness with which the infant's digestive organs receive 
and digest goats' milk. 

"It has been my experience in infant feeding that each 
child is a law unto itself, hence you can readily realize that 
any formula would only be a guide and it would vary accord- 
ing to conditions met with. 




■ — Courtesy of J. T. Gordon 

CLETA B. OF LA MESA GOAT RANCH 

"For the sake of simplicity, I will divide the infants which 
come under my observation, and for whom I am asked to 
suggest and regulate their feeding, into four classes: 

"'A,' healthy normal child; *B,' health slightly impaired 
with digestive disturbances; 'C,' health markedly impaired, 
digestive disturbances pronounced; 'D,' health vitally impaired, 
digestive disturbances very greatly pronounced; 

"You can readily see that a general formula suggested 
for an infant, say. one month old, would in no way agree 
with aU four classes. Hence my suggestions will be for an 



THE MILK GOAT INDUSTRY 



121 



Infant of Class 'A,' which would probably apply for class 'B' 
with slight modification, but probably would be very detri- 
mental to classes 'C and 'D' without considerable dilution 
and modification, which requires considerable skill, judg- 
ment and experience. 

"It must be definitely borne in mind that infants in 
classes 'C and 'D^ cannot at first receive all the nutrition 
which they should have, but rather only that which their de- 
vitalized digestive system can handle and properly digest, 
for, on the other hand, if you should unduly crowd feeding on 
these infants they would be able to digest but a small portion. 
The rest would undergo chemical change which would re- 
sult in poisoning the system. 

"It is also necessary to classify feedings in regard to 
age of infants, as their stomachs are very small and cannot 
hold much at a time. As they grow older, the stomach grows 
rapidly, also the requirements for food increases. 

"The following formula is a general guide which applies 
to infants of class 'A' and not to 'B,' 'C and 'D' without modi- 
fying: 

2 mo. 



Age 1 mo. 



Goat milk . . . 
Malt sugar.. 
Lime water. . 
Boiled water. 
Frequency of 
feeding . . . 
Night feeding 



1 oz. 
J teasp. 
1 teasp. 
, 1 to 1^ oz. 



2 oz. 

1 teasp. 

2 teasp. 
2 oz. 



3 mo. 

3 oz. 

1 teasp. 

2 teasp. 
2 oz. 



4 mo. 

4 oz. 

1 teasp. 

2 teasp. 
1 to 2 oz. 



5 mo. 
and after 

6 oz. 

1 teasp. 

2 teasp. 



2 hrs. 2 hrs. 3 hrs. 3 to 4 hrs. 4 hrs. 
4 hrs. 4 hrs. 5 hrs. 5 hrs. 6 hrs. 

For "B,' "C" and "D" classes I advise dilution with boiled 
water formula: for "B" class one-fifth and gradually increase 
to formula for class "A." 

For "C" class, dilute formula one-third and gradually in- 
crease to formula for class "B" then to class "A." 

For class "D" dilute one-half gradually increasing formula 
for class "C" then to "B" and then to "A." 

I have frequently found for class "C" and "D," giving 
small quantities of formula frequently will agree better than 
large quantities at longer intervals. I have also had excel- 
lent results by carefully combining goat's milk with some of 
the prepared foods. 



122 



OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 



Publications 

For those wishing further information on the industry 
there are the following publications: 

The Goat World, a magazine of some fifty pages printed 
on good paper and devoted entirely to the raising and breed 
ing of Milk Goats. This magazin-e is published monthly. The 
subscription price is one dollar per year. 

"Modern Milk Goats," a book of about two hundred and 
seventy pages, written by Irmagarde Richards. Price, three 
dollars. 




-Courtesy of R. R. Glahn 

SAANEN BUCK 



"Profit and Pleasure in Goat Keeping," by Fred C. Louns- 
bury. 

"The Milk Goat Dairy," by Wickersham. 

The two last named are small booklets and can be pur- 
chased from the publishers of this book. 

"Farmers Bulletin, number 920," United States Depart- 
ment of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. 



THE MILK GOAT INDUSTRY 123 

"Bulletin, number 285," Agricultural Experiment Station. 

Berkeley, Calif. 

The two last named may be obtained free of charge by 
writing to the respective addresses. 

"Stomach Worms in Sheep, number 47," United States 
Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C, is a good 
treatise on worms. Goats should receive the same treatment 
for worms as sheep. 

The Future 

Many thought at first, and perhaps a few still think, 
the Milk Goat Industry only a fad. Such ideas have long since 
been proven erroneous for the demand for good stock is greater 
now than at any previous time. And why not? "Eight to ten 
goats can be kept as cheaply as one cow." (Government re- 
port.) 

The milk is free from tubercular germs. 

It tests twice as rich as cow's milk in butter fat. 

It can be used in any way that cow's milk can. 

It is the nearest approach to an ideal infant and invalid 
food we have. 

Goats are free from tuberculosis. 

(A hospital in Chicago claims to have cured many cases 
of tuberculosis by the use of goat's milk. They also report 
the cure of cancer of stomach by the same). 

Goats can be kept where it is impractical to keep a cow. 

The offspring will sell for more than the cost of keep for 
the dams. 

Children and women can handle and care for goats as 
easily as a man. We already have several women in the in- 
dustry as a means of livelihood. The clean habits, the gentle 
disposition of the goats and their ease of handling really make 
them peculiarly adapted to woman's work. 

Two good does will keep the average family bountifully 
supplied with the richest and purest milk the entire year at 
practically no expense. If the does are well bred and a pure 
bred sire is used the kids will show a profit aside from the 
milk. 

THE MILK GOAT HAS COME TO STAY. 



124 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

THE FUR FARMING INDUSTRY 

By a. R. Harding 

SO promising is the raising of Fur-Bearing Animals loom- 
ing up that we wrote M(r. A. R. Harding, author and 
publisher of Fur Farming, to write this chapter. Mr. 
Harding is not only a well-known Writer-Publisher of Trap- 
ping and Fur Books, but knows fur and fur valu-es, from more 
than thirty years' experience in handling, not only mink, coon, 
skunk, opossum, muskrat, but valuable ones as well, including 
black, silver and cross foxes. 



In writing a chapter devoted to Fur Farming or Rais- 
ing I do not know that I can bring more clearly or forcibly 
before those who have or expect to -engage in the business 
than to reproduce Chapter II from my 278-page book. Fur 
Farming, with a few changes and extracts on the care, feed- 
ing, breeding, etc., of the various animals as published in my 
book. Remember that this book was first published, spring 
of 1909, and that many things that I predicted or foresaw 
that have since come true. 

What Animals to Raise 

Th-ere is a bright future to Fur Farming. The person 
who knows something of the habits of the animal or animals 
that they expect to raise, will be the successful ones. A 
person who has always lived in the city would not be likely 
to make a success at general farming or fruit raising. The 
same applies to fur farming. The person who has followed 
hunting, trapping, or the farmer or x)^t stock, raiser who has 
given attention to fur-bearing animals are the ones most apt 
to be successful. 

FOXES, no doubt, will be animals that the majority 
would like to begin with, especially the more valuable ones, 
as black, silver and cross. These, for breeding purposes, 
can now be secured at more reasonable prices as raisers are 
now selling more freely to others than formerly. 



THE FUR FARMING INDUSTRY 125 

During the past few years, many started in the business 
of raising the most valuable foxes — black, silver, cross. The 
busin'ess has developed wonderfully in Eastern Quebec, New 
Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Prices paid for fine specimens 
of black and silver fox seem fabulous. It is reported on good 
authority that $10,000 to $15,000 is no uncommon price for 
good pairs — male and female. This is not so unreasonable 
when the value of the skins are tak-en into consideration, and 
proportionately would only mean $40 to $60 for a pair of 
mink, the skins of which would bring $5 to $7 each. 

SKUNK. A good many attempts were made at raising 
skunk, a number of years ago, most of which were failures. 
Some entered the business on a large scale, knowing nothing 
of the animals, and, of course, failed; others "penned up" a 
few skunk, and, as they were not properly cared for, failure 
was the result. 

The advanced price of skunk skins in recent years ha? 
caused a revival in their raising. This time, an entirely af- 
ferent class of people are taking up the work, and they are 
going to succeed. Why? Because they know something of 
the animals and are going at the business in a calm and 
business-like way. 

MINK, at present prices, look good to the fur farmer. 
They are small animals, but yield a pelt worth from $3 to 
$7, $8, or occasionally $10, d-epending upon the size and color. 
(Remember this chapter was written back in 1909). 

RACCOON AND OPOSSUM, compared with many fur- 
bearing aimals, are producers of cheap furs. This is true, 
but at the same time, they offer the most promising future 
for the fur-farmer in many localiti-es, especially the South 
and Central sections. Opossum cannot stand severe cold 
weather. They are easily raised, and in addition to their fur, 
the carcass finds ready sale in most cities. 

Opossum and coon will not dig deep, S'eeking escape, 
but are good climbers, and considerable precaution should b'e 
taken to see that the wire netting is either extended in sev- 
eral feet at the top, or that a strip of tin a couple of feet 
wide is fastened to the posts some three feet from the ground. 



126 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

Watching Market Prices 

The fur-farmer, should the market be low for certain 
animals, can keep over; or the b-etter plan would, no doubt, 
be to kill off the surplus males and perhaps some females. 
At such times do not make the mistake of killing off too 
closely, as some do, claiming that the fur is low and that 
there is no n'eed of trying to increase. Nine times in ten 
this is the time to raise as many as possible, for by an- 
other season, that particular article is likely to be in de- 
mand. 




To illustrate: In the winter of 1908-09, No. 1 skunk 
from Northern and Eastern sections were worth $2.00, whil'e 
the following winter the same quality skins were bringing 
$4.00. If the skunk raisers had sold off their stock at low 
prices, because the prospect was not bright, but had gone 
ah'ead, they would have had a good crop of fur to market at 
high prices by January, 1910. 

Had the opossum raiser, during the comparatively low 
prices for this fur in 1908 and 1909, sold off his breeding 
stock, he would not have had a supply when the prices ad- 
vanced in January 1910. 

Some make the mistake of selling off th-eir stock when 
prices ease up, expecting to go into the raising again when 
a reaction takes place. This is not the way to make the 
most money; when a reaction comes other farmers who have 
continued raising this certain animal, reap the harvest, sell- 
ing to the market or their neighbors at high prices. 



THE FUR FARMING INDUSTRY 127 

Prices 

The prices paid for the various articles show about what 
the grower may expect for his "crop." The demand, of course, 
will have much to do with the price. Fashion is constantly 
changing, but indications are that, owing to diminishing 
supply and increased consumption, prices will be on a fairly 
high level always. Trappers and hunters often catch fur 
too early and, as a consequence, have blue pelts, which are 
graded down. In the spring shedders and rubbed skins are 
secured, which are sold as No. 2 or lower. With the fur- 
farmer there will be no early caught blu-e skins or late 
caught spring and shedders. The animals will be killed when 
prime and will bring best prices. 




Red Fox 

Fur Quality 

Some reports from those who have experinrented in a 
small way at raising fur animals is to the effect that they 
do not fur properly. This may be true in regard to skunk, 
when kept in a box and fed largely on meat. The writer 
has bought skunk skins that had been kept in a "pen" or 
small enclosure for weeks, and in addition to being thinly 
furred, the hide was much thicker than it should have b«en. 
Proper feeding was mainly responsible. 

Indians and professional trappers and hunters of the North 
say that they can notice a difference in the fur of fox-es, 
lynx, marten, etc., when the food supply is abundant. The 
fur is thicker and has a healthier, silkier and glossier ap- 
pearance. The secr'et, no doubt, is to give the animals plenty 
of room, and food should be varied. Here is where a knowl- 
edge of the habits of the animal or animals one is raising 
is valuable. When cattle, sheep and hogs are fed properly, 



128 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

they take on fat readily, and produce a healthy coat of hair 
or wool. The same applies to th'e fur-bearing animals. 

Inducements 

What animals offer the greatest inducement to prospect- 
ive raisers? This is a question that each individual going 
into the business must largely decide. The place you have in 
view for the starting of the farm will have much to do with 
this. Is the location one best adapted to skunk, mink, coon, 
fox, muskrat or some other fur-bearer? Again, your expe- 
rience should be taken into consideration — what fur-bearers 
you are most familiar with. If you live near a large city, 
which offers a market for coon and opossum carcasses, this 
should be considered, as these animals are easily raised and 
opossum are very prolific, producing from six to twelve or 
sometimes more at a litter. While the fur of coon and 
opossum will never be very valuable, yet as both fur and 
carcass have a cash value, they will prove greater money- 
makers than many believe. Muskrat are another animal that 
should not be overlooked, as they increase rapidly, and their 
flesh is now being sold in many of the large cities. 

Localities for Raising Stock 

Marten and silver fox should not be raised in the South, 
as they are animals that do best in the cold sections. Otter 
and mink are two animals whose fur is faded by the sun, and 
as the darker the fur, the more valuable, it is important 
that as little sun as possible shines upon them. For this 
reason it is not a bad idea to have the enclosure for these 
animals in the woods or thickets, in fact, some trees should 
be in enclosures for all animals. If raising coon or opossum, 
they will be "at home" in the trees, while other animals 
will enjoy the shade in the summer, and will make use of the 
leaves in the dens for winter. 



MINK 



THE FUR FARMING INDUSTRY 129 

There are some animals, such as mart-en, fisher, wild cat, 
weasel, badgers and wolves, that do not seem promising to 
raise for various reasons. Marten do best in the high moun- 
tain sections; fisher and wild cat would be hard to ke-ep in 
an enclosure; weasel and badger are not valuable and would 
both be difficult to keep in; wolves are not valuable enough 
for their fur and would require considerable attention and 
food, hence not desirable to raise. In most states where wolves 
still abound there is bounty on the scalps, but the raising of 
them for the bounty would not w^ork— the bounty would not 
be paid if county officials knew from what source they came. 

Choice of Animals 

Among the animals promising the best for raising are the 
black, silver cross and red fox, skunk, mink, coon, opossum 
and muskrat. The otter, beaver, marten and lynx, under cer- 
tain conditions, may be worth considerably, esp-ecially now 
that these animals are becoming scarcer and their value apt 
to increase. 

For Value and Uses 

Of late years the price of most raw furs has been forced 
higher and higher; as a consequence, reactions have taken 
place, but they have not gone as low as they were some 
years ago. I think that fur prices in general will maintain 
high value and most kinds will gradually increase in value 
as the animals producing them become scarcer, but when- 
ever the price is forced up too high, ther-e is bound to be a 
reaction. 

Suppose thousands engage in the business of raising 
fox, skunk, mink, coon, opossum and muskrat, what effect 
would it have upon the market? Wlould they overstock it? 




MUSKRAT 



130 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

How many hundreds of thousands of persons are today rais- 
ing cotton and wool to furnish clothing to the millions of 
people, and there has always been a market? (The scarcity 
and high prices which began in 1917 were due, of course, to 
the war). The same will be the case with fur. In fact, unless 
thousands engage in the fur raising business, the demand 
is going to far exceed the supply at no distant day. 

Furs in the North are a necessity, as no cloth will repel 
the piercing wind. Teamsters and others much out of 
doors wear fur overcoats and caps, and also use fur laprobes. 
Further south, say in the latitude of New York, Pittsburgh, 
Denver, etc., while furs are not an absolute necessity, yet 
they are much worn for comfort. In all the cities of the 
North furs are worn eight or nine months in the year; in 
the central sections, perhaps six months; while in the South, 
only a few months. In addition to this, American furs are 
worn in all civilized countries of the world. 

Millions of dollars worth of fur skins are used each 
s-cason to satisfy fancp for fur^s, which, of course, the trapper 
and Fur Raiser has no objection to. 

Combination Raising 

The farmer or stock raiser, as a rule, who is making 
the most money, is the one who raises, not horses, cattle, 
sheep or swine alone, but often two or more of them. The 
sam-e can be applied to the fur farmer. Suppose an enclosure 
of a few acres is made for skunk or other animals, why 
not take in a pond, if there is one, and raise muskrat, coon, 
fish and frogs? There is a ready market in all cities, usually 
at hotels and restaurants, for fresh fish and frogs. 

The farmer that raises sheep not only sells the wool, 
but fattens and sells some of the lambs, weathers or old 
ewes from time to time. The farmer is in the business to 
make the most out of it, and such will be th-e case with the 
fur-farmer. In the cities there is a demand for the car- 
casses of coon and opossum at prices ranging from 40 cents 
to $1.00 for coon, and 15 cents to $1.00 for opossum, depend- 
ing upon the size of the carcass, as well as the city in which 
you are marketing. In New York, Boston, Philadelphia and 
Baltimore there is a ready sale for all coon and opossum car- 
casses at good prices. Other cities that use large quantities 
are Buffalo, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Chicago, Milwau- 



THE FUR FARMING INDUSTRY 



131 




132 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

kee, Minneapolis, St. Paul. In fact, there is no city of any size 
north of the Ohio River but offers a market. St. Louis, Kansas 
City, Louisville, Memphis and other southern cities, being 
near the coon and opossum producing sections, do not offer 
so good a market. Muskrat are now served as "marsh rabbit" 
in Baltimore and other cities. The trapper realizes from 5 
to 10 cents each. 

Other Important Points to Consider 

With th-e exception of muskrat, fur-bearing animals breed 

only once a year, unless the first litter are killed or die, when 
another is sometimes born, and it may be said, such is fre- 
quently the case. The number that the various animals pro- 
duce in a litter is given in the chapter dealing with the ani- 
mal. 

Raising fur-bearing animals may be compared with rais- 
ing bees for honey. Not all of those who have gon-e into the 
business of raising bees are successful, yet how few failures 
are there among men who began in a small way, learning 
more of th-e business, and gradually increasing the number 
of hives in their apiary. 

One thing is important, and that is, get the animals ac- 
customed to their keeper as soon as possible. The old will 
be wild for some time, but the young soon become tame. 
Skunk and coon are easily tamed and even beaver, otter and 
mink have become so tame, when secured young, that chil- 
dren have safely handled them. 

A man who has been in the fur-farming industry for 
years, in response to the inquiry, "Will the business pay?" 
says: "Yes, it will pay the right man big dividends on the 
capital invested." The right man is one who has natural ap- 
titude for this sort of work, and who is "cut out" for fur- 
farming. If he has a liking for this sort of work, he will 
study the nature and requirements of th'e animals and attend 
carefully to their every want. 

Fur farming as an industry is only in its infancy, in fact, 
scarcely begun. The future looks bright to those who en- 
gage in the business in a business way. To those who -ex- 
pect to make a fortune in a year or two, we predict failure, 
but to all who are willing to go at the industry intelligently, 
building a substantial enclosure, paying the same careful 
attention to the feed and care of their fur animals that they 



THE FUR FARMING INDUSTRY 133 

would to "other stock," to get the best results, far more than 
ordinary profit should result. 

To all others who are desirous of trying the raising of fur- 
bearers for profit, we say: Read this book carefully — study 
it — and then if you feel that you can make it a paying busi- 
ness, make a small enclosure and try a few animals. By 
the end of a year or two, you will know wheth-er you are 
going to like it; whether you can make a success of it or 
not, and will have acquired a lot of very necessary knowl- 
edge regarding the animals, that could not have be-en ob- 
tained in any other wa3^ You will know then whether to go 
ahead or not, and if the former, you will also know how. 

The business surely looks like a "gold mine" at pres- 
ent prices for fur and breeding stock. Even should prices be 
reduced by one-half or more the business bids to continue 
very profitable. 

While scores, perhaps hundreds, will make good with 
the more valuable foxes — black, silver, cross — thousands will 
find that profits may not be so great (neither is the expense 
to get started) with the common red fox, skunk, mink, mar- 
ten, coon, opossum and muskrat, yet the raising of these 
animals is not apt to influence values. The world needs 
millions of these skins each year, and the market is not so 
limited as with the high-priced furs. Looks like a great 
future for the raising of these animals. There is no denying 
the fact that the supply of wild fur-bearing animals is grad- 
ually becoming I'ess, not only in America, but throughout the 
entire world, while the demand for furs is constantly in- 
creasing. 

Since the wild ginseng and golden seal has become scarce, 
hundreds are profitably growing them. The value of th-ese 
has never been but a million or two each year. How about 
the raising of fur-bearing animals? Here is an industry that 
can use $50,000,000 worth of raw furs each year. Where are 
they going to come from unless thousands engage in the 
business of raising? The demand for animals for breeding- 
will be an enormous one as well. 

Enclosures 
The fur raiser should have substantial enclosures and 
the following is taken from Mr. Harding's book: 



134 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

For foxes, coon and other animals of similar size and 
strength, wire netting should be of 14 or 16 gauge, and the 
mesh two inches. It sliould be about 9 fe-et wide. It can be 
gotten in four and five foot widths. The enclosure should 
be 7 feet high, which leaves two feet to go under ground. For 
skunk, muskrat and opossum, the material should be 16 or 
17 gaug-e wire with 1^ inch mesh. For mink, probably as 
small as 18 gauge wire can be used and the mesh should be 
1 inch. 

Some animals will stand crowding more than others and 
probably a dozen muskrat or 6 skunk could be raised in an 
enclosure that would accommodate but a couple of foxes. 

SKUNK. For 10 skunk or less, and their offspring the 
first year, I suggest an enclosure measuring about 3 rods 
wide by 4 rods long. An enclosure of this size will answer 
for a much larger number, but I don't believe in crowding. 
Mink, marten and opossum will probably stand more crowding 
than most other animals, and th'e enclosures for the numbers 
given above for other animals may be smaller. In fact, an 
opossum or two will do fairly well in a box 4 by 5 feet, if kept 
clean. 

FOXES. Foxes, on the other hand, will require more 
room, and for ten animals something like ou'e-fourth of an 
acre should be used. 

MUSKRAT. While muskrat can be raised "penned up," 
the thousands of small lakes, ponds, etc., offer a splendid op- 
portunity for the cheap and successful raising. Many own- 
ers of such today, in th'eir natural condition, or without any 
fence, are reaping a profitable and furry harvest; yet there 
are additional hundreds that, by building a fence around, 
would soon have a muskrat lake or pond worth a great deal. 
Muskrat are fond of their hom'es and often remain at the 
same location for years. If a wire fence three feet high were 
built around a lake or pond and a foot or two underground, 
it would keep the rats at home, otherwise some would leave 
when feed became scarce or their numbers became too great. 
Such a fence would also keep out mink which are destructive 
to young muskrat. 

Fur animals like the earth rather than boards as the 
floor of their living quarters. In enclosures where only one 



THE FUR FARMING INDUSTRY 



135 










ti-^' 




* 



& ^ 



NATURAL RLAOK AND SILVER FOX SKINS 



136 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

or two are kept, temporarily in boxes, it is well to have the 
bottom covered with dry earth. 

While best grade of galvanized wire will last for years 
in the ground it is not a bad idea to have the wire only 
come to the ground and cement below. A wall of cement two 
inches thick will keep or prevent any animal from digging 
out or through. 

Foxes — Black, Silver, Cross, Red 
FEED AND CARE. The food for foxes in the wild 
state consists principally of small animals and birds, such 
as rabbits, partridge, quail, chipmunks and mice, but they also 
eat fruit, such as apples, wild grapes and nuts. They are also 
fond of fish and eggs. 

Foxes should not be fed too much meat, for, in cap- 
tivity, they do not get as much exercise as in the wild 
state. One of the most successful raisers feeds a quarter 
of a pound of meat and a quart of skimmed milk daily. 
A quarter of a pound of meat and a handful of table scraps 
is a very good daily allowance. Another fox raiser feeds 
along with the meat a hoecake made of corn meal and 
sour milk. Stale bread also makes good food for foxes. 
They should only be fed what they will eat up clean, and 
to go hungry occasionally may be "good for them" for in 
the wild state they sometimes went hungry, no doubt. A 
bone, with little meat on, is good for them to gnaw at to 
keep their teeth in condition. They should be fed twice 
a day — morning and evening — and given fresh water each 
day. 

BREEDING. Each pen or compartment should be 
provided with small kennels, for although the fox will 
usually dig a den, the nature of the ground is not always 
suitable and they take kindly to these artificial dens. A 
box about four feet long and three wide and at least two 
high is all right for a "den," with a smooth round hole to 
enter and come out through. Dry leaves make good nest 
material, although sometimes the female fox makes use of 
but little. 

Foxes attain their growth usually before a year old. 
They breed but once a year, and the mating or rutting 
season includes the months of February and March. The 
period of gestation is about 51 days. Therefore the young 



THE FUR FARMING INDUSTRY 137 

are born in April and May. The number in a litter varies 
from two to eight, the average number born to adult par- 
ents being five. In the wild state foxes are monogamous 
— have only one mate — at least only one in a season, and 
when the young are being reared he dutifully forages for 
them. In confinement, however, one male sometimes has 
been mated successfully with two or even three females, 
but beginners probably had best handle the animals in 
pairs. 

It is possible, also, as proved in a number of instances, 
to allow male and female to remain together throughout 
the year without bad results, but it is much better to keep 
them separate, except during the mating season. They may 
be paired in December or January and separated in March 
or April. The females should be kept in the small en- 
closures continuously and the young removed when weaned. 
(By small enclosure is not meant den or kennel, but the 
small enclosure surrounding same which is usually 30 by 
40 feet, or thereabout.) 

None other than the owner or keeper should go near 
when the young are born or for weeks after. 

The males, if regularly fed, are not quarrelsome, ex- 
cept in the rutting season, and therefore, during the greater 
part of the year may be allowed to run together in the 
larger enclosures. The separation of the sexes is not as 
many suppose, to prevent the male from killing the young, 
for, unless suffering from hunger, he usually is a model 
parent. 

Skunk 

FEED AND CARE. Skunk are found over most of the 
United States and Southern Canada. They take on fat 
readily in the fall and often hole up during December and 
January in the north, especially if the winter is a severe 
one. Being slow moving animals, they cannot catch the 
more active animals and birds, and their food consists 
mainly of mice, insects and grubs, also eggs and young of 
such birds as nest on the ground- They are great dead 
animal feeders, although preferring fresh. Even in the 
wild state they are not strictly speaking, a carnivorous 
animal, as they will eat and, in fact, are fond of, sweet 



138 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

corn when in a milky state, also potatoes, melons and wild 
fruit. 

Skunk in captivity will eat a great variety of foods, in- 
cluding meat, fish, insects, bread, cooked and even raw veg- 
etables and ripe fruit. Table scraps will keep the animals 
in good condition, but occasional meals wholly of raw meat 
are desirable. The meat should not be putrid (decayed) 
nor very salty. More of it should be fed in the spring, for 
it is a lack of meat diet that causes old skunk to eat the 
young. 

Cakes and mush made from corn meal and bits of 
meat are excellent food. If fresh milk is available, it may 
be made an important part of the food. Cooked green 
corn and hominy also are recommended. 

No more food should be given than they will eat clean 
during the night. Do not give the carcass of some animal 
and let them feast on it for days. But little more food 
than required for a cat will suffice for a skunk. They 
should be fed once or twice a day; if fed but once, it should 
be in the evening. Females with young should always be 
fed twice a day. Good fresh drinking water should be 
given and both vessels for food and water should be kept 
clean. 

BREEDING. The mating season in in February and 
early March and the young are born mostly in May, al- 
though some will be born in April. The period of gesta- 
tion is about 6 3 days. There are usually from four to ten 
in a litter, but occasionally there will be more. One male 
skunk is sufficient for about six females. 

The "skunkery" should be divided into several com- 
partments which are needed to separate males or females 
and young just weaned- In addition to these divisions, 
separate breeding pens must be made for each female and 
her young. Cheap wooden boxes will answer for nests, 
but the enclosure in which they are placed should be 
large enough (say 8 by 12 feet) so that the young will 
have space to play after old enough to leave the nest and 
before they are weaned. Where litters are allowed to run 
togther, there is more or less quarreling and mothers steal- 
ing the young of others and. while there might not be any 
killed, it is not a good plan. The divisions between the 



THE FUR FARMING INDUSTRY 139 




DRESSED RUSSIAN ERMINE 



140 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

various females and their young may be of wire unless 
there Is fighting, when a board partition some three feet 
high is needed. 

In each compartment a number of dens should be 
made by digging a trench and covering afterwards. While 
the animals will dig dens if necessary, they prefer, even 
while in a wild state, to use dens already made. Boxes, 
barrels or pens with board floors should not be used. 
Some of the successful ones claim that this has a tendency 
to cause a thick pelt and thin fur, saying that it is abso- 
lutely necessary that they have natural dens in the ground. 
The dens should be quite deep so that there will be no 
danger from frost in winter. 

No matter what style of den is used, it should be so 
made that there is no danger of it getting damp. There 
should be plenty of dens, so that if one becomes damp or 
infected with vermin, the occupants can take up quarters 
•elsewhere. Leaves and fine dead grass make good nests. 

Mink 
FEED AND CARE. Although Mink are found in 
nearly all parts of North America, the most valuable ones 
are found in the Lake Superior region. Southeastern Can- 
ada, the New England States, Northern New York; yet, 
with the exception of those native to the extreme South, 
any are all right to raise. The larger and darker the ani- 
mals started with, of course, the more valuable. 

The food of mink consists mostly of rabbits, partridge, 
quail, squirrel, muskrat, mice, fish, frogs, birds and eggs 
in their wild state. While they will eat stale meat, they 
prefer strictly fresh. 

The following food is recommended by those who 
have raised the animals: The best steady food for mink 
is bread and sweet milk, corn-mush and milk, or corn- 
mush cooked with bits of meat in it. The animals should 
have meat or fish about twice a week. The meat may be 
of a cheap kind- Keep pans clean, and feed only as much 
as the mink will eat up clean at each feeding. Feed once 
a day, except females that are suckling young. These 
should be fed twice. Provide fresh water regularly. Do 
not salt the food. 



THE FUR FARMING INDUSTRY 141 

BREEDING. Mink should be kept in the proportion 
of one male to five or six females; that is, one male 
is enough for five to six females. The first half of March 
is the mating season in most northern states and Canada, 
but the owner must be very watchful during the latter 
part of February and up to the middle of March. The 
male can be admitted through chutes or holes, but must be 
withdrawn at once if the two begin to quarrel. If there 
is no quarreling, the male should be left with the female 
a couple of days. 

The young will be born six weeks after mating, as the 
period of gestation is 42 days. You will be aware when 
the young are born from the "crying" from within the 
nest boxes. This "crying" is apt to continue for several 
days, but all is well, and, under no circumstance, disturb 
them by peeping in the nest box. If your curiosity gets 
the better of you and the box is even slightly moved, the 
mother is apt to kill her young. Keep away, except to feed 
twice a day. 

A mink, when nursing young, will eat about one-fourth 
pound of fresh meat at each meal with what fresh milk she 
wants. If she does not care for milk she may eat a half 
pound of meat morning and evening — or a pound a day. 

The females must be kept alone or they will be likely 
to kill each other's young. The male would also kill them 
if they had an opportunity. 

Instead of using wire to enclose pens, many make of 
smooth boards four feet long, set up with the lower end 
resting on stone or concrete 18 inches in the ground. The 
pen need only be about 5 by 6 feet. The floor of the 
pen should be the bare ground — top, of course, covered. 
The pens can be built economically in groups of four or 
more. Boxes about 2 feet long, 1 1/4 feet high and 1 y^ 
wide should be provided for nests. They should have 
hinged lids so as to allow their being opened and examined. 
Fine straw or hay should be provided. The boxes may 
be outside the pens, bolted to the outside wall. A hole 
in the wall admits the animal to the box. These boxes 
should be several inches off the ground. A round hole 
about four inches in diameter is made in the end of the 
box extending into the pen for the mink to enter. 



142 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

Raccoon 

FEED AND CARE. The natural home of the raccoon 
is in the heavily timbered parts and its den is in a hollow 
cavity of some tree well up from the ground. While its 
liking is for a "tree den" they do den in natural caves, 
as well as dens in rocks and earth. The raiser should 
take his lesson from what the coon prefers — provide for 
them a hollow log placed on end for a den or home. 

Coon eat a great variety of food, both vegetable and 
animal, including rabbits, fowl, fish, frogs, crawfish, clams, 
eggs, water snails, wild grapes, berries, nuts, acorns, etc. 
They are very fond of corn when in the milky state — about 
roasting ear time. They like sweets, also watermelon, 
and also fond of bread and milk. 

This animal does well in captivity and soon becomes 
tame and makes an interesting pet. Now that both fur and 
carcass are valuable there is no question but that increased 
numbers will be raised. 

BREEDING. One male is sufficient for from four to 
six females. The mating season is towards the last of 
February and the first part of March- The period of ges- 
tation is about nine weeks and the number of young va- 
ries from three to six — usually four or five. 

The mother should be fed twice a day. If fresh meat 
is given each day in addition to bread and milk and table 
scraps, so much the better. While coon will eat putrid 
flesh, it is best to feed only fresh, for should the decayed 
meat be infected it is apt to cause the death of the suck- 
ling young. 

Raccoon, in the wild state, are a clean animal, so that 
none but this kind should be fed. Plenty of clean water 
should be given, and both water and food vessels should 
be kept clean. 

If unable to get "den trees" or pieces of trees with 
hollows suitable for dens, boxes will answer. These should 
be at least two feet square and a hole, say eight inches in 
diameter, cut for use of the animal. Some poles or branches 
should be put inside the pen for the young and mother to 
climb and play on. Males should be kept away from the 
female until the young are weaned. It probably would 



THE FUR FARMING INDUSTRY 143 

be best to keep old males by themselves only during the 
breeding season; yet, if they do not quarrel they can be 
kept together. 

Opossum 
FEED AND CARE. The opossum is a southern ani- 
mal and in the wild state is not found, to much extent, 
north of 41 degrees, or say Central Pennsylvania, Northern 
Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Southern Iowa. The animal 
cannot stand extreme cold weather. 

While the opossum is a Southern animal, I do not see 
any reason why it cannot be successfully raised in Northern 
States and Canada as well as in the Southern and Central 
States, if good warm dens are provided. I am inclined to 
think that, with plenty to eat and deep ground dens, they 
will do well in most any locality. In the wild state, as a 
rule, their dens are in the ground, under a rock, log or 
tree, and are shallow. 

The opossum is omnivorous, that is, feeding on both 
animal and vegetable food. They eat a great deal of 
carrion — dead animals — but in captivity it is not best to 
feed this. They are fond of rabbit, fowl of any kind, and 
eggs, as well as fruit of all kinds, also persimmons, polk- 
berries, paw-paws, wild grapes, etc. They also eat mice, 
insects. 

BREEDING. One male is sufficient for several fe- 
males. The young are born the latter part of April or 
first part of May, being very small and imperfectly formed. 
They are placed immediately after being born in the pouch 
on the belly by the mother, where they remain until they 
have attained a perfect form and have become large enough 
to walk about. When placed in the pouch by the mother, 
they attach themselves to a teat and remain there until 
strong enough to move about. From six to twelve are 
produced at a litter. 

As the severe weather is over by the time the young 
are born, very good nests for the mothers can be made in 
boxes, old logs and the like. A West Virginia raiser says: 
The young are born the middle of April and in two months 
are about the size of rats and growing fast. Six months 
later, or December 15th, if well fed and cared for, they 
will weigh from. 9 to 15 pounds. Thus at eight months — 



144 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

born April 15 — they are grown by the middle of December, 
which is a very good time to kill for the market as both 
fur and carcass are apt to be in demand at that season." 
The males should be kept from the females, at least 
from the time the young are born until they are two months 
old. The mother with her many young requires a good 
deal of feed, so see that she gets enough. Feed should be 
given at least twice a day. 

Muskrat 

FEED AND CARE. Although one of the cheapest of 
the fur bearers, being so widely distributed and its num- 
bers so great, the total value of pelts of this animal is 
probably as great if not greater than any other. 

Best species, or at least finest and best furred seem to 
be secured mostly in the region of the Great Lakes, yet 
there is only a few cents difference in value of the brown 
variety regardless of where caught. The black variety 
found along the Atlantic Coast is more valuable. 

The natural food of the muskrat is grass, roots, fruit, 
grain, clams- They are fond of parsnips, carrots, arti- 
chokes, white flag roots, wild rice, pond lily roots, corn 
and pumpkin and will eat almost all kinds of vegetables. 

BREEDING. The breeding habits of muskrat are dif- 
ferent from those of other fur bearing animals, as they 
will have three litters in a season — two being quite com- 
mon. The first are born in April or early May, and there 
is apt to be from six to nine young. It is claimed that 
the female of the first litter will also bear young that sea- 
son, which accounts for the small rats, or kits, caught 
during the fall season. 

During recent years, property owners in many rat- 
producing sections have awakened to the fact that their 
"swampy land" is of more value for the annual fur harvest 
than for any other purpose. Those who expect to raise this 
fur bearer should take into consideration that little or no 
fencing is required on lakes, ponds and creeks if proper 
feed grows there. If the feed is not there, the prospective 
raiser should see that it is started at once by sowing wild 
rice, transplanting some flags and lily roots to his muskrat 
waters. In fact, the muskrat raiser should have the food 



THE FUR FARMING INDUSTRY 145 

supply well under way before the rats are bought or se- 
cured, or they will destroy it. 

Muskrat can, no doubt, be successfully raised in artifi- 
cial enclosures, but if the water and food is furnished they 
will "raise themselves" if given a chance. This, no doubt, 
will be the best plan. 

When starting these animals, it might be advisable to 
get a supply of the "bl.ack variety" from some trapper or 
raiser in eastern Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey or Vir- 
ginia. 

Other Fur Bearers 

As the wild supply becomes scarcer and values go 
higher, no doubt other fur bearers will receive attention 
from raisers. Marten v/ill probably be one of the ani- 
mals whose fur will command a high price in the future 
as the wild supply is diminishing. Raisers will find the 
plans as given for mink will be considerable of a guide 
for this animal. 

Otter and beaver are being used a great deal — in fact, 
always have been serviceable furs — and prices are apt to 
be higher. Methods explained for other fur bearers can be 
used for these animals other than they must have wat-er to 
swim in as well as drink. They are strong animals and 
the enclosures must be made very strong and substantial. 
As they are not prolific breeders, they, however, do not 
appeal to me as being desirable to raise at present fur 
prices. 

Fisher are now quite scarce and good pelts command 
high prices, but as they are not prolific breeders, I do not 
believe this animal offers very flattering inducements to 
the raisers at the present time- 



146 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

THE FOX INDUSTRY 



An Industry Which Has Within the Last Few Years 

Spread Over the Whole of America and Has 

Assumed Vast Proportions 



By F. C. Kaye, 

Editor The Black Fox Magazine. 

FURS ALWAYS IN VOGUE— From the time of Adam the 
fur covered pelts of animals have been used by man for 
protection against tne inclemencies of the weather, also 
for adornment, and from this time with never a let-up, fur- 
bearing animals of all kinds have been hunted and killed for 
their pelts, which have always found a ready sale in the 
markets of the world. 

For centuries these animals were found to be plentiful, 
and inhabited the trackless wilds to be found on every con- 
tinent, but as civilization progressed and the devastation 
of the forests took place, and man encroached ever more and 
more upon the native haunts of the wild fur bearers they not 
only were driven farther and farther back into the unac- 
cessible sections, but have become greatly depleted, and in 
fact some kinds are either totally extinct or practically so. 

GOVERNMENT STATISTICS—A short time ago our 
government, through their Bureau of Biological Survey, made 
the statement that within the last fifty years the supply of 
wild fur-bearing animals had diminished 50 per cent and 
that if through conservation and the fur farms the supply 
was not augmented, it would only be a short time before 
many of the fur-bearers would become totally extinct. 

Increasing Demand for Furs 
As this decrease in supply has proceeded, so has the de- 
mand increased, until at the present time furs are consid- 
ered one of the easiest and greatest sellers of any article of 
trade. There is only one solution to the problem through 
which this supply can even in a measure be made to equal 
the demand — and this solution is the raising of fur-bearing 
animals in captivity 

FUR FARMING — Silver Fox for centuries has always been 
regarded as one of the most yaluable and beautiful of furs. 



THE FOX INDUSTRY 



147 



and even in the early days was never found in quantity, the 
proportion being something like one silver fox for every 
40,000 red foxes captured. 

It was therefore most natural that when the idea of 
raising wild animals in captivity was originated that a val- 
uable animal like silver fox was the one selected. 




THE AUTHOR, F. C. KAYE 



PRACTICALLY A NEW INDUSTRY— While Fur Farm- 
ing is a comparatively new industry, still a certain amount 
of mystery exists as to the efforts of the pioneers. However, 
it is generally conceded that one Charles Dalton (now the 
Hon. Sir Charles), a farmer residing on Prince Edward 
Island, Canada, can rightfully claim to be the first man 
who, together with his partner, Robert Dalton, successfully 



148 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

raised Silver Foxes in captivity. This, according to the 
best reports obtainable, was in 1889. Prior to this, however, 
a Benjamin Haywood, also of Prince Edward Island, is said 
to have kept a pair of Silvers in captivity, but did not raise 
any pups from them. 

BIG PRICES OBTAINABLE— Thus a new industry was 
born, which up until 1905 was kept a close secret, and which 
was participated in by only six men. Foxes were raised and 
their pelts were shipped to the London market, and brought 
from $300 to the enormous sum of $2,650, Even in these few 
years the pioneers headed by Dalton made a vast amount of 
money out of their undertakings. 

THE INDUSTRY BRANCHES OUT— Finally in 1905 
Silver Fox fur farming began to attract so much local atten- 
tion that other people were anxious to engage in it, and 
through the letting down of the bars on the part of one of 
the pioneers, the combine which had existed was finally 
broken and foxes were supplied to others. 

From that time on up until the world war started in 1914 
a wild period of speculation was indulged in. The demand 
for breeding stock became so great that prices of* same ad- 
vanced until the climax was capped through the record sale 
of one pair of Silver Foxes for $32,500. It is needless to say 
that this wild speculation was in every way harmful, and 
the end had to come, so that when the war started prices of 
breeding pairs of Silver Fox began to decline until some- 
thing near their true basic pelt value was reached, and as the 
industry has spread, and knowledgde has been gained, breed- 
ing animals have ever more and more assumed a value strictly 
in accordance with their pelts' value. 

Commercial Fur Farm.ing 

It is upon this valuation that the present day commer- 
cial Fur Farming industry has been established. Like any 
other live stock industry, the raising of fur-bearers is sub- 
ject to losses and discouragements, but where first the 
proper quality of breeding animals is secured, and secondly 
the same care and attention given them that is required to 
make a success of any business, there remains no doubt what- 
ever in regard to the large profits which can be made. Con- 
servative estimates which have been arrived at through the 



THE FOX INDUSTRY 



149 



examination of hundreds of records show that a pair of high 
class quality breeding foxes is capable of producing on an 
average of from four to seven pups a year, and therefore 
should net their owners from $1,000 to $3,000 annually. In 
many instances these figures are much larger, but even 




— Oourtesj' of Black Fox Magazine 
A PURE-BRED QUALITY SILVER FOX 



though some reason, a year may pass without a profit being 
shown, the fact remains that no other like investment will 
in the long run pay so well. Present day conditions point to 
the fact that Pur Farming — not alone Silver Fox — but almost 
every known kind of fur-bearing animal is now being raised 



150 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

in captivity. We have our Mink ranches, our Muskrat farms, 
our Skunk ranches, as well as those in which Marten and 
Fisher are being raised, and these are now springing up in 
all sections of the country. Our own government as well as 
that of Canada and several other countries have recognized 
the great importance of fur farming and all are giving it 
their serious attention and in every possible way seeking to 
encourage and develop it. 

It is next to impossible in one article such as this to 
convey a truly intelligent idea of the magnitude to which 
•this industry has advanced or to intelligently present all its 
necessary features, but with the idea that the readers may 
obtain a slight insight into it — which I trust they will follow 
up — a tesv important subjects in connection with fur farm- 
ing will be touched upon. 

First Consideration — Location 

Primarily, the first and important thing a prospective 
fur farmer must consider is the proper location in which to 
build his ranch. Proper climatic conditions are essential 
as it is useless to attempt to raise good fur in localities 
where fur can not be successfully grown. A safe rule to 
follow in this connection is "that wherever the native fox is 
found in the wild there fur farming can be successfully 
prosecuted." Natural surroundings as far as possible should 
be aimed at in building your ranch, a certain amount of 
shade, also plenty of sunlight is necessary. 

BUILDING A RANCH— The building of a ranch can be 
made to suit the individual ideas of any one, as hardly any 
two ranches throughout the country can be found to be ex- 
actly alike. 

PENS — When foxes are kept each pair should have an 
individual pen entirely separated from each adjoining one. 
These pens can be built almost any size and shape, but the 
prevailing size seems to be about 25x30 feet. Some ranchers 
prefer to carpet the whole floor of the pen with wire, others 
(and these are in the majority) dig a trench and sink the 
wire about three feet on all sides. Again some ranchers only 
build their pens five or six feet high and cover the top over 
with wire, but it is believed that the old style ranch where 
the wire was run up about 9 feet with an inclined overhang 



THE FOX INDUSTRY 



151 



on the inside of the pens of 18 inches but 2 feet is much 
preferable. Around the pens and at a distance of 10 to 20 
feet a guard fence 9 feet high should be erected so that any 
animal that might dig out of its pen would be prevented 
from escaping. 




— Courtesy of Black Fox Magazine 

FOXES ARE EASILY TAMED 



GOOD QUALITY STOCK ESSENTIAL TO SUCCESS— 
Probably the most important item in connection with the 
making of success in fur farming is to be sure and secure 
good first-class breeding stock, as with poor and cheap ani- 
mals a great handicap is encountered. Insist on getting 
the best, as the money in fur farming is in Quality and not 
in Quantity. 

FEEDING AND CARE — Feed and care form a very im- 
portant part towards the final successful outcome. With the 
former there are many dont's that must be taken into con- 



152 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

sideration and understood, as when it is considered that a 
wild animal is being raised in an environment that is for- 
eign to its natural habits, care must always be taken to so 
far as possible make it feel happy and contented and this 
can only be done through proper feeding. Good clean food is 
vital; also a balanced ration. Every experienced rancher gen- 
erally finds what he believes to be the proper feed, and it is 
well to follow the method of the rancher from whom you 
buy your animals, providing of course these animals are in 
good physical condition. Sanitation has always to be made 
a chief factor in the care of fur-bearing animals, as without 
absolute cleanliness is practiced trouble of one kind or an- 
other is bound to ensue. To be a good caretaker comes nat- 
ural to some people while others never do. If you love ani- 
mals and they take to you, the rest is very easily acquired. 
Study your animals and treat them as you would any other 
valuable live stock, and you will find that fur farming in 
any of its branches will pay and pay you well, for all the 
money, trouble and patience you care to invest in it. 

Fur Farming Is Making Vast Growth 

Today not only every state in the Union where fur farm- 
ing can be prosecuted can hundreds of fur farms be found, 
but in all parts of the Dominion of Canada fur farming is 
continually gaining ground. Foreign countries such as Nor- 
way, Sweden and Japan all have their numerous fur farms, 
and in time it is certainly believed fur farming will hold a 
place all over the world that will be second to no other in- 
dustry of its kind. 

It is no longer an experiment as for over 30 years it 
has been tested and tried, and governments and fur mer- 
chants alike realize that fur farming is the one and only 
solution as to increasing the fur supply, so that the demand 
can in any measure be adequately met. 



THE FERRET INDUSTRY 153 

THE FERRET INDUSTRY 

By a. R. Harding 

PERHAPS there is no better way to inform prospective 
Ferret Raisers of the importance of the industry than 
to publish the "Introduction" to Feri^et Facts and 
Fancies, a book written by A. R. Harding, which says: 

Introduction 

"No business of the importance of the ferret industry 
has received so little attention and notice, especially from 
the press. Fur Raising, Ginseng and Golden Seal Culture, 
Game Growing, Fish Culture, Etc., have all been given a 
good deal of attention from newspapers, magazines and 
books upon the several industries, as well as publications 
devoted entirely to these special lines. Although the ferret 
industry, in America, is really yet in its infancy, the busi- 
ness is of much more importance than generally realized. 
Perhaps there is no better way to illustrate the extent to 
which even now ferrets are raised, sold and used than to 
call especial attention to Chapter II — Ferretville. 

"Ferrets are a domesticated wild animal. I have seen 
more than one raiser pick up, with bare hand, old ferrets, 
handling or wooling them around, the ferrets apparently 
enjoying it. At the approach of the owner or raiser they 
usually com-e to him, or as close as the wire screen will 
allow, jumping up or clinging to the wire and otherwise 
showing their friendliness. 

"At the present time ferrets are mostly used to exter- 
minate rats and for rabbit hunting. For rats, they are 
much used in barns, granaries, grain elevators, mills, stores, 
levees, walls, ships or any place where rats are. If rightly 
used and handled, there is no better or quicker way to 
rid a place of the pests. Where rabbits are doing an in- 
jury to fruit trees, etc., ferrets can be used to advantage. 
Ferrets are also used, to some extent, on the large Western 
ground squirrels, gophers and prairie dogs. Some success 
has also been had in using on mink, skunk, coon and other 
fur-bearing animals. 



154 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

"The ferret is very similar to the fitch, a European 
animal that furnishes tens of thousands of skins to the 
fur trade annually- In Europe the ferret is sometimes 
called fitch-ferret, whereby many claimed to be half fitch. 
Some dealers in American furs class ferret skins as 
"halves" — half ferret, half fitch — and buy on that basis. 
At the present time the fur value of the ferret pelt is but 
little, yet the time is not far distant when it, no doubt, 
will be much more valuable. 

"Raising ferrets, like most other lines of business, is 
profitable for those who are familiar with the nature and 
habits of the animal, but is apt to prove otherwise for 
those who know nothing about it. Information in this 
book was gathered from visiting some of the largest ferret 
colonies, as well as correspondence with many others who 

raise thousands, down to those who raise a very few." 

NOTE. — The Ferretville referred to is New London, 
Ohio, near where the industry was first launched in Amer- 
ica by Henry Farnsworth. At this time there are many 
there engaged in the business and some of the largest 
raise thousands each year. It is said that one year 35,- 
000 ferrets were shipped from this one town alone. Those 
interested in ferrets will find much of value to them, not 
only in Chapter II — Ferretville, but throughout the book — 
Ferret Facts and Fancies. 

Ferrets — General Information 

COLORS. There are two colors, white and brown. 
The white ones have pink eyes and are called the English 
ferret, and the brown ones have dark eyes and are called 
Fitch ferrets. 

There is no difference in the two varieties as to their 
breeding and working qualities — only a matter of fancy 
as to color. They are hardy, strong animals and breed 
well in most climates. The average life of the ferret is 
from five to eight years. 

BREEDING. In breeding, always use strong, active, 
healthy and hardy animals. Never breed from weak or 
sickly parents or bad workers. They must be wintered well 
if you expect to get a good, strong litter of young. They 



THE FERRET INDUSTRY 155 

must have warm winter quarters, plenty of straw for nests, 
also. 

MATING. Watch each female for developments, which 
will be when warm weather comes in March or April. When 
you find her ready to mate, place her with the male and 
leave for a day. You will have no trouble in telling when 
she is ready to mate, as she will remain in that condition 
for from one to two weeks. Each female should have a 
pen to herself for two weeks before she has young. Use 
wheat straw or fine grass for the nest boxes. The female 
carries her young for 42 days. 

LITTERS. The average litter is from 6 to 10, but 
they have been known to have 15 to 18. As a rule, they 
will breed and raise two litters of young in a season. Some 
raisers have females that breed three times during the 
season. In the breeding season, each male should be 
kept in a pen by himself, as they fight if they get to- 
gether. 

The young are born with their eyes shut and will re- 
main that way for about four or five weeks. When you 
look at the young, do so when the mother is feeding. 
When the young are large enough (shortly after they open 
their eyes) to come out and eat, they can be weaned and 
in about ten days the old ferret will be ready to breed 
again. 

FEEDING. Feeding is one of the most important 
branches of breeding, rearing and working of ferrets. The 
greater part of the success depends on the proper feeding. 
The main food is cooked graham mush, fresh meat and 
sweet milk. Bread and milk and meat is all right if you 
have only a few. A matured ferret can be kept in good, 
thrifty condition on mush or bread and milk, as meat is 
not an absolute necessity. When feeding meat in warm 
weather, feed only a little at a time. Do not feed salty 
or diseased, rotten meat, as salt and refuse will kill them. 
Feed the old ones twice a day, about what they will eat 
each time, with meat two or three times a week. 

When feeding young ones it is best to feed three 
times a day the amount they will eat up clean and no 
more. Bread and milk is the best food for the young. A 



156 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

little meat two or three times a week will do no harm. 
Use good judgment in feeding and you will lose very few, 

HOLDING. Ferrets are naturally tame, and with just 
a little handling will become as tame as kittens. Never 
grab a ferret as he is coming out of a hole, for if you don't 
get him the first time, he will become shy; let him come 
clear out of the hole and then when you do reach him, be 
sure that you get him the first time. Better wait a few 
minutes for it than to have a shy ferret. 

THEIR USE. They are old enough to work on rabbits 
when three or four months, and on rats at six months. 
Any ferret will hunt and drive rabbits from their burrows 
and come out after they have driven the game out, so you 
can pick them up. That is all one could desire. Most 
ferrets do this without training. 

It is natural for them to hunt, drive and kill, and it 
is just as natural for the rabbit to be afraid of them and 
so it takes "a hike" at once. Ferrets will drive out rats, 
rabbits, mink, gophers and weasels, and some claim to 
have ferrets that will drive out skunk. 

BREEDING SEASON. The breeding season of ferrets 
is from March to September, and they may breed as early 
as February if warm or in Southern states. Those who 
breed ferrets being many and under different conditions, 
no general rule will apply to all. 

HOUSING. The main thing in hutch or pen building is 
to make a comfortable home for them and to be so construct- 
ed that cleanliness of all the apartments can easily be 
attended to at any time. Next in importance is to have a 
dry place to build and have them so arranged that they 
can be properly ventilated in the summer and closed in the 
winter. You cannot succeed in raising ferrets if you have 
a damp place for their hutches — dryness and warmth are 
the principal points to be observed. 

A good size for a hutch is 4 feet long, 3 feet wide and 
2l^ feet high. Take a box about 12 to 14 inches square 
and make a hole in one end about 4 inches square, and 
then place this box, which is used as a nest box, in the 
larger box or hutch. The size hutch mentioned will be 
about right for a female and her young. 



THE FERRET INDUSTRY 157 

NESTS. An Iowa ferret rais*er of many years' expe- 
rience, says: Fix the nest for the female at least a week 
before she has young — young are born 42 days after mating 
— and do not bother her until the young are about four 
weeks old. The ferrets hide their young until about that 
time. If the young get to squealing and crawling about at 
this time, soak a small piece of bread in warm milk and 
place it in the nest, as they are hungry. They will soon 
find it and suck the milk all out. 



158 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

BREEDING AND CARE OF RATS 
AND MICE— ORIGIN 

By John Allex, 

President of the Rat and Mouse Club of Aniei'ica 

DUE to the fact that tame rats and mice now hold a con- 
spicuous position in the commercial world — more es- 
pecially among the medical fraternity chiefly for 'experi- 
mental purposes — and also owing to the great demand there 
is for stock and the splendid chance the raising of these 
small animals offer as a business proposition, this book 
would be incomplete if this department were left out. It is 
all-important, and the information you will get here should 
enable even the very beginner to take up this wonderful 
enterprise profitably, as well as the ent-ertainment to be de- 
rived therefrom. 

Rats and mice belong to the rodent family — which is, a 
gnawing animal, originally natives of Southern Asia, that 
is, the common everyday rat and mouse, whose destruction 
we always seek. They are known everywhere in the world 
except in a few islands of the Pacific Ocean, and have fol- 
lowed man to all corners of the globe, and is still a regular 
traveler on steamboats, railroads and other means of trans- 
portation. 

The two common species, the black and white rat, are 
found in nearly all parts of the world. It is commonly un- 
derstood that the black rat was the first to reach America, 
sometime in the year 1544. It was a matter of about two 
hundred and fifty years later b'efore the brown rat made en- 
trance into this country, of course, getting here by means 
of secreting itself in vessels of transportation, such as above 
mentioned, nad disembarking itself "at port," as it were, 
enjoying liberty and exercising its prolific characteristic of 
breeding, consequently the "swarm" of the common rats and 
mice in our country at this time. 

In their characteristics, color and size, unlike other ani- 
mals, they are the same all over the world, doing most of their 
"destructive" work at night, possessing large eyes and ears, 
long whiskers, all of which are suited for midnight activi- 
ties. 



RATS AND MICE 



159 



Rats differ from mice only in being larger. The black 
rat is between seven and eight inches in length, while the 
brown grows to be ten or eleven inches long; the latter is 
much strong'er, and has shorter hair, a shorter tail, smaller 
ears, and a less pointed nose. The long tail is believed to be 
useful in climbing and in jumping. These same principles 
apply to the common mouse — the only difference being tht 
size, as already mentioned. 




BALD-FACE PINK-EYED SILVER MOUSE 

The common brown or black house rat or the little 
brown ordinary mouse from time to time have been tam*ed 
and domesticated by people who have interested themselves 
in this "taming" process, then by reason of closer observation 
and training, breeding, etc., the white rats and mice have 
been produced, as well as many varieties and standards — 
very nearly three doz*en different species so far as solid and 
mixed colors are concerned — produced by reason of specialty 
breeding. Then there is the Japanese Waltzing Mous-e — 



160 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

characteristic of freaks of nature and queer antics which is 
mighty interesting to the observing eye of th'e rat and mouse 
fancier and even entertaining to the untrained eye. 

On Buying and Breeding Stock 

In purchasing your breeders be sure you are getting 

good stock as this means more to you than anything else. 

You had better get a few at the start and see what kind 
of stock they are, before you get a larg^e supply on hand. 

Don't take up some pet stock paper and look over the 
ads to see how cheap you can get your stock. It always pays 
to get absolutely the best ther-e is. 

You must not be backward in paying a fair price for 
your breeding stock. Nine times out of ten it is the stock 
you buy to start that spells your success or failure. So try 
and get your stock from a breeder who breeds up to the 
standard as they cost but a very little bit more, and costs 
no extra to feed and to take care of; then you will have 
good healthy stock and you can sell them for more money 
and are sure of more orders when you fill your order with 
good stock than when you send out a lot of sick stock as 
no one wants that kind, and you will have less trouble with 
your breeding stock. 

A good healthy rat or mouse should have eyes large and 
bold, and their tails long and tapering and free from sores. 
Coat should be short, thick and glossy and they should be free 
from sneezing. 

Male and female are kept together in a cage, but when 
the mother has young the male should be taken away and 
put in a separate cag*e. This will avoid any risk of the male 
rat or mouse eating the young. Also see that they have plenty 
of feed especially when having young, or efse the female may 
d'evour her babies. 

Rats and mice breed several times a year, producing from 

six to fifteen young to a litter, and as there is always a ready 

market for them it is certainly a good paying business if 

managed properly. Hospitals and laboratories handle and 

experiment on thousands of rats and mice yearly. Then 
there are hundreds of people who keep rats and mice for 
the sole purpose of pets. 

Housing 

We know of ho other pets that can be so cheaply housed 
as these little fellows. There are many ways to house them 



RATS AND MICE 



161 



but most any good sound box will do that is large enough to 
give th'em plenty of room and is arranged so you can care for 
them. 

Use a piece of screen wire on front of the cage and on 
the door too, and make the door to open from the top. 

In this cage put 6 females and 2 males and a bed box; 
a cigar box mak-es a good bed. Then place the boxes in rows 
on the floor. 

Most any place will do if it is dry and plenty of fresh 
air at all times. Always keep your cages dry. It is a good 
idea to keep some saw dust or straw or sometiiing of this 
kind in the cages to take up the dampness. 




A NEST OF SILVER MICE 

You will find a barn or any outbuildings that are not in 
use that can be made free from the cold winds and snows 
will make a fine place for mice and rats. A cage about 
12 inches by 28 to 30 inches long with a bedroom 8 by 
12 inches, cage to be 6 to 8 inches deep; for the bedroom 
use a nest of straw in summer, and in th-e winter use a bed 
made from cat tails, which the mice will pull to bits and 
use it for nest bedding. Put In this cage 6 females and 1 
male. Then every three weeks look over the little ones and 
if you see any that are about one-third grown and eat grain 
wean them. Use a larger box or cage for the young; 
a cag'e 3 feet long and 2 feet wide with a large nest room. 



162 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

In this cage you can keep from 50 to 100 young. When the 
young are weaned you put the little females in one cage and 
the males in another cage. 

A mouse carries h-er young 21 days before they are born 
and a rat 28 days. 

Feeding 

Care should be taken in feeding your mice and rats if 
you want to get good results from them. Always feed good 
food and feed once a day and at night only just what they 
will clean up over night so they won't leave any to sour. 
Always give fresh feed each night; clean out the feed vessels 
daily. If there is any food left feed it to the chick-ens, but 
give the rats and mice fresh feed each night. One thing you 
must not forget, mice must have feed before them at all 
times; it will keep them in good shape. Mice that do not 
have all they want to eat and have to go without feed some- 
times start eating each other. So do not forget to feed 
your mice every night. They should be given plenty of fresh 
water at all times. They will eat most any kind of grain 
and seed but when kept confined a little more attention is 
given to feeding. If you feed properly the death rate 
will be greatly reduced. A well balanced ration — one that 
will keep your stock in the best condition, is one you should 
feed regularly. Care should be taken to get the right amount 
of protein and fats and carbohydrates. Some have on-e way 
of feeding, some another. Here is more than one ration. 
You can pick out the one you think best, all of these rations 
bring good stock: 

Ration No. 1 
Oats, 20 lbs.; buckwheat, 10 lbs.; whole corn, 8 lbs., wheat, 
5 lbs.; millet, 3 lbs.; sunflower seed, 6 lbs. 

Ration No. 2 

Oatmeal, 25 lbs.; scratch feed, 755 lbs. Milk to drink once 
daily. No water. 

Ration No. 3 

Scratch feed, 95 lbs.; green feed, 5 lbs.; water morning 
and night for summer time. 



RATS AND MICE 163 

These feeds are just as good for rats as they are for mice, 
but you know that rats are f-ed twice a day, night and morn- 
ing. Rats and mice should have greens, at times you will 
find lettuce, dandelions and watercress are the best. Do not 
give your stock any cabbage as it may kill them; they are 
very fond Of live crickets and grasshoppers. Dry bread 
crusts, grain, corn, green food, vegetables and fruits should 
be the general diet for your stock, fed as per the above tab- 
ulation. • In warm weather, corn and nuts should be fed 
sparingly. Meat should never be given, or else your stock will 
become vicious and devour one another. 

CAUTION. — A good sized piece of wood, preferably a 
piece of green wood with the bark on, should be left in the 
cage at all times for the animals to gnaw upon, otherwise the 
teeth of your rats will grow abnormally long, which will 
eventually kill them. 

Diseases of Rats and Mice 

Diseases in mice and rats are very few, and if you give 
the proper feed and care you will not have any trouble of 
this kind. Disinfect once a week with any good disinfectant 
on the market. 

Diarrhoea is an excessive action of the bowels. Causes: 
It is more often due to sudden changes from some food low 
in its percentage of protein to on-e having a high percentage; 
also to sour and musty food, and damp cages and so on. 
Symtitoms: The evacuations are frequently watery and offens- 
ive, and if not checked at once the animal will get very thin 
and weakly, then little can be done to save it. 

Treatment: Remove sick ones to a nice, clean, dry cage 
and feed boiled rice and warm boiled milk; do not feed 
any food of watery nature from then until cured- 

Colds consist of an inflammation of the mucous mem- 
branes. Causes: Are usually brought on by subjecting the ani- 
mal to a sudden change of temperature, or draft, or dampness. 
Symptoms: A dry cough, sneezing and a watery-like sub- 
stance running from the eyes; if not treat'ed at once little 
can be done that will effect a cure. 

Treatment: Take all water away from them and give 
them fresh water with two drops of tincture of Aconac to 
each teaspoonful of water. If eyes are running watery, bathe 
them with a solution of boracic acid. To make solution, 



164 



OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 



take on'e teaspoonful of boracic acid to a pint of warm water. 
Use this two or three times a day and make fresh every 
day; use a piece of cotton to apply it with. 

No. 2 Cure for Colds: At night take a piece of onion and 
cut up some for each cage; cut pieces about V4, to 14 inch 
long, give the sick stock some every other day until they 
are cured. 

CAUTION. — Always s-eparate the sick stock from the 
healthy ones to prevent spreading of any diseases. This is 
important. 




WHITE ALBINO RAT 

Physical Culture 
Rats and mice delight in exercise, and branches and 
perches should be provided, in addition to any windings and 
swings. The more exercise and play your stock gets, the 
healthier and robust will be your production — consequently a 
more prosperous and successful business. 

Always work for and aim at the highest attainment in 
your enterprise. Conduct your rat and mice activities on 



RATS AND MICE 165 

business-like lines — heed the instructions here given, and you 
will experience success at all times. 

Varieties, Exhibition, Etc. 

There are numerous breeds or varieties of tame rats and 
mice, but each belongs to one of the two species, and has 
been the result of experimental and scientific breeding by 
those fanciers who have interested themselves therein, and en- 
deavored to produce "something different" from that al- 
ready in existence, and to improve specimens, and so forth, 
by selecting and breeding. 

Pure white animals with pink eyes are the commonest 
kind. Then there are those that are white with brown or 
black spots, while others are "tortoiseshell," or several dif- 
ferent colors combined. There are also other varieties which 
are pale gray, others black with white markings, and others 
yellow or orange. Among the Rat and Mouse fancy, the dif- 
ferent breeds are known by the following different names: 
Agoutis, of a rich brown color, ticked all over with orange 
hairs; eyes are black; the underneath body color being rufus 
red — the color of the real Belgian Hare rabbit. Blacks, of 
a solid color — lustrous appearance, in popularity, comes 
second to the white rat and mouse. Solid Blue, very definite 
of a slate shade, though there is still some experimentation 
going on in the production of this specimen. Broken Marked 
Black-Eyed and the Broken Marked Pink-Eyed. As this would 
indicate, the colors are not even, there being a mixture, but 
with certain specific markings as mentioned about the eyes. 
Solid Chocolate placed in the same category as the Blue, the 
only difference being the color. Chocolate and Tan. While 
there are many fanciers who prefer the solid colors, still 
there are many raisers who appreciate the mixed colors, and 
take quite a great deal of interest in producing stock of two 
or more colors — even markings — distances, etc. Cinnamon, 
another uncommon color; the coat should be a rich brown, 
ticked with chocolate hairs. Creams, perhaps the third in 
popularity among the solid-color varieties. This variety at- 
tracts great attention. Once produced in this color, they will 
nearly always produce that way. Dutch Marked is very pretty 
and pleasing to behold, and, while there is a good demand 
for them, they are not so 'easily produced as some of the 
other more-than-one-color. The markings should be very 



166 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

much after those of the Dutch rabbit. Grey Agoutis are con- 
sidered quite pretty among fanciers and ar-e very successful 
at shows; the coat has a similar appearance to that of the 
silver grey rabbit, and the belly-coat should be of silver gray. 
Then there are Solid Reds; these are scarce, comparatively 
speaking, yet offer a whole lot of attraction to the prac- 
ticed eye of the fancier. Among others there are: HarUquin. 
Lilacs, Plums or Plum Silvei's, Sables, Sable and White. Sil- 
vers, Silver and Tans, Silver Grays, Tortoise Shell, Varie- 
gated, Etc. 

The above-mentioned colorings apply particularly to the 
Mouse; as to the Rats, they are produced in such colorings 
as Agoutis. Blues, Chocolates, Yellow and Whites, in par- 
ticular. There may be a few others, though not generally 
recognized. Then there is what is known as th-e Hooded Rat. 
possessing a square-cut hood, with a narrow pencil line along 
the back. It is generally accepted that the hood and pencil 
line may be of any color on a ground of white; the eyes may 
be either black or red. 

The so-called "Japanese Waltzing Mice," science has be-en 
unable to account for, though some who have made a keen 
study of the peculiarity of this particular mouse say that 
it has a brain disease which caus'es it to run in circles or in 
an erratic manner. They were originally produced in Japan, 
and may be bred easily in confinement. However, this mouse 
is particularly amusing with its freakish behavior, antics, and 
so forth. It is quite lik-ely that this specie, in time, will be 
no more, as it is found that by cross-breeding the "antics" 
are gradually being eliminated, so very much evidenced in 
the progeny of this cross-breeding. 

Rats and mice are easily kept and do not require a great 
deal of care. They always seem happy and are very prolific. 
There are probably no animals in the world that are more 
easily handled and more ent'ertaining generally than Rats 
and Mice, as well as offering a very profitable business prop- 
osition to the ambitious man, woman, boy or girl. The cost 
of keep is but very little, and the profits are large. 



THE DOG 167 

THE DOG 

Compiled by R. P. Mercer. 

Foreword: — In this brief treatise on the dog no attempt 
is made to be original. It is, as its heading indicates, a 
matter of compilation. Everything which came to hand 
regardless of its source has been used if it looked to be oi 
interest to the new or old fancier. Due credit is given for all 
help in this small work. 

The Dog "A Faithful Friend' 

The dog is man's oldest and most faithful friend and 
helper. He has been found pictured in some of the oldest 
of the Egyptian monuments and was held sacred by many of 
the ancients. The dog was also among the first of the beasts 
of burden. The savage- tribes tamed the wild dog and 
trained him to guard his possessions and to draw his heavy 
loads. This wild savage wolf dog was made to do service 
at a time when beasts of burden were few and if the his- 
tory of his life among the savage tribes can be relied upon 
he did better service at that time than many of our fine 
bred specimens of today have ever accomplished. 

Many of our present day specimens which have been 
bred for years to an almost perfect standard, have been trained 
to parform services for mankind which are almost unbe- 
lievable. However, owing to the many domesticated ani- 
mals at present under the command of mankind, the dog's 
sei vices have been sadly neglected. How much more could 
be done with such dogs as the collie, the Airedale and the 
pit bull than have been done, under skilled and well directed 
teaching. Let us hope that breeders of such dogs will try 
in the future to put them to better use than to keep them 
only as pets. 

Dogs trained for the service of which they are capable 
are not only most useful but bring much better prices than 
dogs -of no training. 

A not uncommon story is told of a dog who loved his 
master so well that after his master's death and burial, the 
dog was missing from home for several days and when found 



168 



OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 



was lying on the grave of his dead master and though gaunt 
and hungry refused to leave even to eat. He was forced to 
go home, where he had to be tied for several days. Verily 
the love of a dog is past human understanding and not only 
follows the master through hunger and privation, but fol- 
lows him to the grave as a lasting mourner and ofttimes 
remembers after his human companions have forgotten. 




— Photo by Kadel & Herbert 

"JENNIE McCAURA." A W^INNING SPANIEL 



Get the Best Start 



Do not expect such devotion from a mature dog raised 
by someone else. Buy your dog when he is a young puppy 
and raise him yourself. You will get the devotion you are 
entitled to expect. Above all, if you love a dog, love a good 
one. Buy from a man who thinks enough of his dogs to 
make a permanent record of their breeding and give them 
a name on such a record. The thoroughbred of whatever 
breed you fancy is the cheapest in the long run and costs 



THE DOG 169 

no more to raise and less effort to train in his path of use- 
fulness; for he will develop with proper training into just 
what you have a right to expect from him according to his 
breeding and training. 

You can always judge a man by the kind of stock he 
keeps around him. If you find his chickens, his dog, his 
rabbits or other stock of the highest grade you immediately 
place him as a man who is satisfied with nothing but the 
best and your opinion of him is at once of the best. 

Large clubs have been formed for the registration of dogs 
according to bloodlines. Among these is the united Kennel 
Club. This club registers whole litters with a separate cer- 
tificate for each puppy for one dollar, and advertises the lit- 
ter in its own journal, "Bloodlines," free of charge. 

All fanciers who own pure-bred dogs should by all means 
register them and thus have a permanent record of their, 
stock. It has been truly said that the sun never sets on 
United Kennel Club registered dogs and may the star of 
its ascendency never grow dimmer but brighter with the 
years. 

# 

Feeding and Care 

No matter what breed of dog is kept, no matter for what 
purpo:e, the feeding, care and management of the animal is 
absolutely essential to its well-being. Cleanliness and freedom 
from draughts are just as necessary as feeding, and will pro- 
tect the dog from many diseases he would otherwise be 
subject to. 

From general observation we can easily see how 
many dogs are not properly cared for, that is, they are not 
regularly looked after as they should be taken care of; they 
are allowed to "run wild" as it were, seek its own food and 
shelter very often. However, regularity in meals, general 
care and keep must be properly observed, and in the matter 
of meals, they should be served regularly if you want the 
best that is to be bred and maintained. Wherever possible, 
it is best to keep dogs out of doors; see that they are prop- 
erly kennelled or housed, free from exposure to drafts, etc 
Another thing to consider, that is, do not keep it eternally 
chained or in a kind of prison house; see that it has plenty 
of exercise; don't keep the dog indoors as it is essentially 
an outdoor animal. Reverting to feeding, one meal a day is 



170 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

sufficient which may consist of dog-biscuit or scraps from the 
table, and not too much meat, otherwise the animal is likely 
to cultivate a habit of viciousness, which is not the general 
characteristic of a dog if it is properly looked after. Don't 
forget a good bone once in a while. Again, see that it has 
free and easy access to a water pan at all times, and don't 
forget to bathe him at least once a week; soak the coat in 
warm water, apply good dog soap to a brush, and then scrub 
the coat of the animal thoroughly; after this is done, give the 
body a rinsing, and then rub with a dry cloth, until the body 
is about as dry as you can get it. If you commence this bath 
treatment while the animal is young it will look for it reg- 
ularly, and you will never experience the difficulty that 
tome breeders have when they are bathing their dog^^, due 




— Courtesy C. J. Mercer 

BOSTON BULL 

to the fact that the animals were not bathed when young- 
sters. 

These are simple instructions, but if carried out will 
ensure the health of your dogs, and enable you to cultivate an 
increased liking for them so that you will always delight in 
doing everything that will promote the health and happi- 
ness of your animals. They'll appreciate it all right as you 
will notice by their fondness for you in looks and in actual 
service. 



TMl^ DOG 171 

Male and Female Dogs; Their Relative Value 
Male Dogs Versus Females 

Much misunderstanding has been prevalent in the past 
as to the relative value of male and female dogs as compan- 
ions and hunters, watch dogs and general purpose dogs. The 
following is an unbiased opinion of the relative value of the 
sexes. Females are more affectionate than males, are better 
home dogs, do not run after other dogs and are just as game 
and make just as good fighters and hunters as males. In 
your home or place of business a male dog may be approached 
by anyone having with him a female dog without being mo- 
lested, but woe to the man who tries it with a female. On 
the other hand, a female is often objectionable to people on 
account of their being subject to their regular seasons, when 
strange visitors are likely to make life unbearable for their 
owner. Just a word in this direction. If properly cared for 
during this time you will be out of the use of your dog 
much less time than you would a male on account of their 
proneness to be away from home on all occasions. Another 
phase of the subject which presents itself for consideration 
is the fact that you can always have a regular income from 
your female by properly breeding her. 

All females who do not show promise of being above the 
ordinary should be promptly killed before being allowed to 
suckle the food which should be given to the best ones. Also 
do the same by any males which do not show proper form 
and class. It pays and pays big to do this. On no account 
allow a pup to grow up that would not in every case be a 
credit to your name. If they show faults according to the 
Standard eliminate them at once. Like produces like, and 
a dog that you would be ashamed to own as a product of 
your kennels is better not sold. A female, if she is worthy 
to propagate her specie, is instrinsically worth more to the 
fancy and her owner than a male. 

Varieties 
The Airedale 

Like the "master key" to the huge skyscraper which un- 
locks every door in the great edifice, the Airedale may be 
called the "master key" to Dogdom. The Airedale terrier is 
a self-respecting, self-contained gentleman, reserved in his 



172 



OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 



tastes and friendships, quiet in his demeanor, leisurely in his 
walks, the embodiment of force and well developed, well sup- 
pressed energy and power; good natured in disposition but 
terrible in anger. When aroused, as quick as chained light- 
ning, as game as a tiger and bold as a lion. The well-bred 
Airedale bears the red badge of courage, the kind of courage 
that will die in the defense of home and master, or climb a 
black locust thorn bush to fight a wildcat. They combine 




-Photo by Kadel & Herbert, N. Y. 

"DASH," THE CHICKEN CATCHER 



the affectionate heart of a woman with the courage of a 
gladiator. Trustworthy guardians of home and master, in- 
spired with an instinctive love of the game, they will hunt 
for you, live for you, starve with you and, if necessary, die 
in your defense. All hail to the Airedale, the "Master Key 
to Dogdom." The All-Round-King-of-Hovel or castle, equally 
at home in the tropics of the south or the rigid zones of the 
Arctic. 



THE DOG 173 

Dogs Can Be Raised and Sold at a Profit 

Almost any one who does not care to raise many dog-: 
could own a pair of his favorite breed and by intelligent ad- 
vertising make money on his investment and at the same 
time have the pleasure of owning a pair of fine dogs. 

Remember that advertising is the force that moves the 
modern world around it and by it all the achievement of mer- 
chandising and business are built. Ministers and philoso- 
phers, salesmen and service men, and all others with a mes- 
sage to read must take advantage of this great force or the 
best and greatest part of their message remains unsung. 
Great trade names worth millions of dollars have been built 
up by intelligent and consistent advertising. The constant 
hammering at it in the medium which is read by the peo- 
ple who want to buy is the secret of the whole business. 

The Redbone Coonhound 

If there has been one development in the past few years 
that has added to the pleasure and profit of the sportsmen, it 
has been the development of the Redbone Coonhound. Many 
of us remember when any kind of an old crossed dog was a 
coon dog. Many people still try to hunt with them and get 
some coon. 

The Redbone was developed from pure hound bloodlines 
by breeding the best and by natural and other selection, until 
today a hound has been developed that is pre-eminently a 
coonhound. Trained for generations to hunt coon. 

Sportsmen marvel at the ability of these dogs to unravel 
a cold and tangled trail, their grit and courage in pushing 
through briars and underbrush and spattering through ice 
cold water, forgetting all physical discomforts in the joy of 
the scent and the chase. These dogs are also wonderful 
fighters and unlike many hounds do not forget the game in 
the joy of the trailing. 

Their lightning like speed in the dash through open 
woods and their unerring progress through almost inaccessible 
swamps, their unerring quickness in locating the tree in 
which is their gamei is the result of the breeding of the best 
to the best for many generations. 

Like the range horses of our own dear West, they have 
weathered the blizzards and drouth and only the strongest 



174 



OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 




— Photo by Kadol ,Sr Herbert, N. Y. 

THE CALL OF THE WILD 
A Male Wolf Dog Calling for His Mate 



THE DOG 175 

can survive. They have been accustomed to the hard races 
through heavy underbrush and thickets and briars and thorns. 
Icy rivers and muddy streams. 

Fine, large, brown eyes, broad forehead, with lots of 
sense, loud, clear voices that can be heard for miles and 
miles. What more musical to the coon hunter than the loud, 
clear voice of the hound on trail or at tree. 

They come from a long line of healthy, hardy dogs, never 
inbred, but always bred to the best. 

The Redbone can be taught to track anything that leaves 
a scent. They have been worked successfully on wolf, cougar, 
bear, deer and every known game, and have never been found 
lacking in the performance of any kind that a hound can do. 
Long live the Redbone Coonhound. 

The Pit-Bull-Terrier 

The Pit-Bull-Terrier is the family dog. His affections 
for his master and mistress know no bounds. It has been 
bred in him for years. 'While the Pointer and Setter have 
been learning their lessons in the fields and the Collie has 
been developing his marvelous instinct in the pastures, the 
Pit-Bull-Terrier has been at home with his master and mis- 
tress. It has been bred in him for years that his master's 
possessions must be guarded and that he must die to protect 
them. 

The Pit-Bull-Terrier is not necessarily a fighting dog, as 
so many are led to believe. They are no more apt to start 
fights than other breeds, but if something starts and he is 
mixed in it, as. the boys say, it's "all off;" he is game to the 
core. The Pit-Bull-Terriers are most beautiful in colors. It 
is most impossible to find two with the same color markings. 
They are all colors and beautifully marked. In 1910 the 
United Kennel Club registering officers recognized the Pit- 
Bull-Terrier as a distinct breed and in the past seventeen 
years they have developed wonderfully. They now register 
several per month of the finest bloodlines in North America. 
In fact, they have developed so strongly that there are a few 
Purple Ribbon litters being registered. 

The Scotch Collie 

Almost every one knows the great Sable and White and 
the wonderful Wack and white Scotch Collie which have 



176 



OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 



been developed to a well nigh perfect standard. What many 
fanciers who are well up on collie bloodlines do not know, 
however, is that the Scotch Collie is exactly the same blood- 
lines as the widely exploited German Shepherd dog. 




— Photo by Kadel & Herbert, N. Y. 

"CHOWS" ARE BECOMING POPULAR 



The Columbian (White) Collie 

There is a strong tendency in the animal race, as well 
as in the human race, as the generations roll by, for the off- 
spring to become lighter and lighter. It was only a few 
short years ago when the Collie breeder would go and look 
at his new born thoroughbred litter and to his unintelligent 
disgust would find one or two white ones in the litter. At 
first the white ones were unintelligently destroyed and noth 
ing said of their appearance in the litter, but they kept on 
coming just the same. Naturally a few were raised by the 
more humane breeders and the United Kennel Club register 
ing officers were quick to get behind them and encourage 
their breeding. They recognized them as a distinct breed, 



THE DOG 177 

calling them the Columbian Collie, and today they are running 
40-60, if not more, with the great Sable and White bloodline. 
There are a few pure white Columbians, but most of them 
show a little spot of Sable, artistically placed upon their 
head. 

You Collie fanciers try training your Collies for any aiid 
all things which German Shepherd breeders claim as the 
prowess for their dogs. You will find him equally capable 
and more tractable. 

The Borzoi the National Canine — The Samoyedes 
and Owtchar Popular 

In speaking of Russian dogs one's thoughts instinctively 
settle upon the Borzoi, because this graceful creature is more 
intimately associated with that vast, mysterious land than 
any other. We know him better, and therefore regard him 
as typically Russian. So he is, in a sense, being to the Rus- 
sian noble very much what the Foxhound is to the British 
aristocracy. First and foremost we associate packs of Wolf- 
hounds with the Imperial Court and the establishments of the 
Grand Dukes, who follow the chase in the truly grand 
manner. 

By introducing the Boroi into this country we have trans- 
planted him into an alien atmosphere; not only into a cli- 
mate different from that of his native land, but into sur- 
roundings strange and unfamiliar. Having no wolves to hunt, 
we have wrenched him away from his proper vocation, keep- 
ing him merely for the sake of his undeniable beauty and for 
the companionable qualities about which there has been a 
difference of opinion. Those, however, best acquainted with 
the dog insist that he is all he should be in this respect, be- 
ing gentle in manner, dainty of habit, and a fit inmate ot 
the house, in which he takes up less room than might be 
imagined from his si^e. That he enjoys less popularity than 
some of the big dogs — the Great Dane for example — goes to 
demonstrate the futility of trying to account for taste. No 
one can dispute that he is handsome, graceful and picturesque. 

The Greyhound form stands in a class by itself among the 
canine race, and the Borzoi has a size that makes him im- 
posing, and a coat and markings that certainly please the 
eye. As far as one can see at shows, he seems to be tract- 



178 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

able, well-mannered, and readily taught. No dog could have 
a better start than was given him by the Dutchess of New- 
castle, who, if not the first to acclimatize the breed, may 
reasonably claim to have been the earliest exhibitor to estab 
lish an extensive kennel. Next came Royal sanction, with 
the appearance of Queen Alexandra among the exhibitors. In 
spite of all these advantages, and notwithstanding that prices 
for good specimens are far from being extravagant compared 
with the money asked for others, no appreciably solid progress 
has been made. Indeed, from 1907 onwards the registrations 
at the Kennel Club have gone steadily downwards. Frankly, 
I cannot pretend to offer an explanation. 



IMP. ENDCUFFE PERFORMER 
U.K.C. 81900. 




— Courtesy C. J. Mercer 

AIREDALE 

British dogs have been imported into Russia for many 
years, especially Foxhounds, and Pointers and Setters. Tur- 
geney's "Sportsman's Sketches" abound in references to 
shooting dogs. There is Valetka, Yermolai's Setter, who was 
never fed by his master. "A dog's a clever beast; he finds a 
living for himself." That doubtless accounts for a misde- 
meanor that he was in the habit of committing. "He dis- 
tinguished himself by untiring energy in the chase, and had 
a good nose ; but if he chanced to overtake a slightly wounded 



THE DOG 179 

hare he devoured it with relish to the last bone." Possibly 
the Russians train their Setters to retrieve as well as find, 
which would explain why Valetka had the opportunity of 
chasing a wounded hare. One little colloquialism may be 
repeated. A dog that keeps close to heel is said to clean his 
master's spurs. 

The Bird Dog and Other Varieties 

When we speak of a Bird Dog, the average man will 
think immediately of a Setter or a Pointer. The best inter- 
pretation of the word "Bird Dog," however, includes not only 
the different families of Setter and Pointers, but other dogs 
bred principally for hunting birds. 

These include the Water Spaniel, the Chessapeake, the 
Tolling Dog and perhaps some others. The Water Dogs are 
more familiarly known as "Dick Dogs." 

Of the Setters we have the strains known as English, 
Llewellen, Irish and Gordon Setters. The Setter is a noble 
looking animal and is very brainy and affectionate and can 
be trained for other things, but his predominating instinct is 
the hunting of birds on land. 

The Pointer is likewise a land bird dog but works in a 
little different way than the Setter. The Pointer is a smooth 
haired dog while the Setter is a longer haired dog. Both 
breeds have fine noses which are developed principally on 
game land birds. 

Of the Water Retrievers, the Spaniel is perhaps the best 
and most widely known, and is recognized as a distinct breed 
by the different kennel clubs and associations. 

The Brown Water Spaniel is a duck retriever of no mean 
prowess and was developed by P. I. Appleman. He is a won- 
derful breeder and trainer of the different breeds of bird 
dogs. 

Sam Stephenson, the originator of the Redbone Coon- 
hound has also a goodly number of fine bloodlines in the Set- 
ter and Pointer. Most all of his stock are trained or partly 
trained. 

Altogether there are about two hundred different breeds 
of the domestic dog and it would be impossible to treat upon 
all of them in this work. We have dealt very largely along 
the lines of the most widely known. 



180 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

THE BREEDING, RAISING AND 
CARE OF CATS 

By Mrs. F. G. Hiller, 

IN ORDER to be successful in the raising of cats, you 
must have a heart interest in the work. Some people 
are fond of cats, while others do not care for them 
other than for mere domestic purposes- However, this 
article is intended for the "lover of cats," who antici- 
pates and appreciates fancy and has a matter of personal 
taste and of individual preference in catdom. "The best 
is always the cheapest — in the long run." Such is a well- 
known saying, and should be a maxim to be observed by 
all cat fanciers. 

Varieties 
There are many varieties of Persians. First, decide 
upon which variety you prefer, and it is best for the novice 
to keep to one color until he or she has learned some- 
thing about the breeding, care, etc. Then look around 
for the very best. If you can get about two queens, which 
could be bred to good studs, you have a good start. 

The Whites with blue eyes are very beautiful, but 
have a great tendency to deafness, which those with the 
orange eyes do not have. Some breeders advocate crossing 
with a blue stud in order to obviate that tendency. 

The Blacks should be BLACK, sound in color to the 
skin, with no tinge of brown nor white hairs, eyes deep 
orange or copper. 

Blues, which vary in shade, some being dark and 
others light, should also be sound and free from brown, the 
light lavender shade being preferable; they also should 
have deep orange or copper eyes. 

The Reds or Orange tabbies are very popular and are 
beautiful. The tabbies should have very distinct markings of 
darker shade. So many in this class have white or light 
chins, which should not be. The chin should be dark, and 
the eyes orange or copper. 



CAT RAISING 



181 



The Brown tabby is really related to the Red tabbies, 
and are wonderfully beautiful if the markings are cor- 
rect. They have a tawny color with broad, very distinct 
black markings, copper eyes. 

The Tortoiseshell is not quite so popular, although 
some wonderful reds have come from breeding them to 
the Red or Black. 




— Photo by Kadel & Herbert, N. Y. 

$20,000 REFUSED FOR THIS SILVER SHADED PERSIAN CAT 

Last, but not least, are the Silver classes. The Chin- 
chilla, which ranks first, is a wondrously beautiful crea- 
ture. The tips of the hair are very pale silver, growing 
darker at the roots, with a lavender tinge over all the coat, 
which is very beautiful. They should have deep sea or 
blue green eyes, as should all silvers, the eyes being very 
large, round and full. 

Then there are the Shaded Silvers and the Silver 
tabbies. The tabbies have very broad black markings, and 
are lovely also. 



182 ■ OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

The Persian males, particularly, should be very cobby; 
low on legs, broad head, short, square muzzle, small ears 
well rounded at tops and set well apart, the eyes large, full 
and set well apart, and with the exception of the blue- 
eyed Whites and the green-eyed Silvers, should have deep 
orange or copper eyes. Brush should be short and full. 
The females are not, as a rule, so cobby, as they make 
better breeders when not so. 

Breeding 

In breeding, one should try to find a stud that excels 
in the points in which one's queen is lacking. It is well 
also, to breed color to color. It is absolutely a crime to 
breed the Silvers with their green eyes to cats that are sup- 
posed to have copper eyes, for the reason that the result- 
ing kittens are ruined in regard to eye-color, and that for 
generations, as the Silvers are very likely to have the 
orange eyes, while the others take the green. 

Unless there are a number of females in one's town 
to pay for keeping a stud, it is much more economical to 
send your cat to be bred, for keeping a stud entails a lot 
of work and worry. 

Gestation Period and Preparation 

The period of gestation with the cat is from sixty-three 
to sixty-six days. Before being bred, she should be thor- 
oughly wormed and gotten in the pink of condition. Dur- 
ing that time she should be well fed, ground raw beef 
mixed with a little bone meal or calcium phosphates, and 
sometimes mixed with health bread, at least two or three 
times a day. Should always have access to grass, and pure 
fresh water with a little lime water in it. Her bed should 
be in a dark place and she should have gotten used to it 
before her time comes. Some breeders advocate leaving 
her entirely alone while giving birth to her babies; some 
do not. Sometimes a kitten will come feet first, and un- 
less the queen has help she is in a bad fix, and the kitten 
very often will have strangled before it can be delivered. 
I have saved many a valuable kitten by promptly tak- 
ing it and dipping it first in quite hot and then cold water, 
slapping it and breathing into its nostrils; in about a min- 
ute it will beg^in to gasp, and your kitten is saved, which, 



CAT RAISING 



183 



had you not been right there to render first aid, would 
never have breathed. During the last two weeks of the 
queen's period, if three pellets of homoepathic Pulsatilla 
are given daily, it will greatly aid her in giving birth to 
her kits- 
Necessary Care After Young Are Born 
When the kits are all safely into the world, the mother 
should have a clean bed, a turkish towel is good. She will 
greatly relish a drink of warm milk at that time, and then 
should be left to rest. While she is nursing her family, 
she should have ALL she wants to eat, and whatever she 
v.ants. 




— Courtesy of Mrs. E. H. Danforth 

PERSIAN KITTENS 

The kits should NOT be taken out every few moments 
to show to someone, for they look like little rats anyway, 
and the light is apt to cause sore eyes, which is very stub- 
born to cure, once it begins. They should be left in the 
dark until they come out themselves, which will be about 
four weeks. Another thing, no good, human mother will 
awaken her sleeping baby if she wants it to thrive, then 
why allow some one to grab up the tiny kits out of a sound 



184 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

sleep? However, about the ninth day, when the eyes should 
begin to open, it is well to rub your finger over the eyes, 
and if there is any roughness caused by infection that 
sometimes will develop, they should be bathed with a solu- 
tion of real warm boric acid, and a drop of castor oil put 
in the eye, and the trouble is usually ended. 

Number to Raise 
Four kits are all a queen should be allowed to take 

care of; if there are more, a foster mother should be 
found. Some will say, "Oh, nature never gives them more 
than they can take care of." Not so. We must remember 
that nature is very much perverted these days, like everything 
else in this old world of ours. 

The kits should be fed a little scraped raw beef, moist- 
ened with lime water when they begin to come out of the 
basket. But they are greedy littl-e things and it is very easy 
to over-feed them, so great care must be taken not to leave 
food on the floor, for everything should be taken right up as 
soon as th-ey are through. 

Feeding 

In the breeding season the studs should be fed two good 
meals of raw beef. After the season is over, the quantity 
can be cut down and just a small amount given in the morn- 
ing and their good meal at night. If on'e has a number of 
cats it is practical to keep a few chickens, for there will 
usually be almost enough left from the cats to feed the chick- 
ens. If, after you have fed your cats at night, they still cry 
and claw at th-e wires of their runs, you may rest assured 
that they have not had enough, but when they sit back and 
begin to "wash up," then take up what is left for the 
chicks. 

Don't feed liver, kidneys and stuff like that, and expect 
your cats to thrive. Don't feed mush and milk either; a cat 
that is fed that sort of stuff will succumb to the very first 
serious ailment he may have, where the meat-fed cat who has 
all the resistance possible will quickly recover. 

Housing and Cleaning 
Persians should be kept out of doors, in a dry place. 
Their houses should face the south with plenty of windows 
in the south and '^vest, for they need all th-e sun that is go- 
ing in the winter time. They should have cozy boxes of 



CAT KAISING 



185 




18G 



OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 



clean straw, and in winter time they love to curl up in a 
keg containing straw. The runs could be built to the north, 
made with inch wire mesh, and the top covered with roof- 
ing paper to keep out the rain. Their houses should be kept 
scrupulously clean, and if a few monrents each day are spent 
in combing and brushing, and they are kept free from worms, 
fleas and other vermin, your cats will always be in show 
form. Some judges will give a poorer cat which'is in perfect 
show form the blue ribbon over a better cat that is out oi' 
condition. 




— Courtesy ot Mrs. F. G. Hiller 

CHINCHILLA KITTEN 
"MADRON A SILVER TWINKLE" 

Exhibiting 
When you go to the show, don't go with the idea that 
you have the ONLY cats. Your cat looks good to you un- 
doubtedly, but remember the other fellow's cat looks good to 
him. Remember that the judg-e has been engaged to judge 
the cats, not the people, although some of them 1 fear do 



CAT RAISING 



187 




188 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

not always do so. Be a good loser as well as a good win- 
ner. A good winner does not crow over those who are not 
so fortunate; remember that "Charity is kind," There are 
many heartaches and disappointments in the show room, 
and if you cannot lose without showing a spirit of bitterness 
and envy, stay at home. 

General Advice 

Now remember, it is not always the highest priced cats 
that are the best; do not deal with on-e you KNOW to be un- 
reliable, for they should not be encouraged. When you have 
kittens or cats to sell, don't be afraid to advertise, for that 
is one of the most important considerations. Wh*en you have 
a prospective buyer, be sure to describe your cat accurately. 
If she has a fault, tell that as well as the good points. Your 
customer will not then be disappointed when sh-e receives 
her purchase, and you will be surprised how quickly people 
begin to sit up and take notice that such a one is honest, and 
they soon begin to tell each oth*er, "You need not be afraid 
to deal with so and so for she is straight, and you'll get a 
square deal from her," etc. As we used to write in our copy 
books, "Honesty is the best policy." 

IN CONCLUSION. Cats are divided into two gen'eral 
classes, namely, the long-haired kind and the short-haired 
breed. The former type belong to the various Angora and 
Persian Cats, while the latter b'elong to the common cat we 
see every day. 



THE PIGEON INDUSTRY 189 



RAISING PIGEONS FOR PROFIT 
AND PLEASURE 

By Frank Hollman, 
Editor American Pigeon Journal. 

EVERYONE is interested in making money. But to make 
money out of pigeons is, perhaps, something new to 
the average American citizen. Too many people, when 
the subject of pigeons is mentioned, think merely of the com- 
mon barn pigeon which may be seen flying ' around in the 
country, villages and cities. But in raising pigeons for 
profit distinct breeds and varieties are used and such birds 
are kept penned up in wire pens or aviaries. 

Therefore, in the following pages it shall be the privi- 
lege of the writer to give a few fundamental principles and, 
also, general information on the raising of pigeons for profit. 
While this will prove of interest to experienced breeders, yet 
it is written primarily for the beginner, showing him how 
to make money with pigeons. 

Squab Raising As a Business 
Squab raising as a business has become quite an indus- 
try in America. There are thousands of people who keep 
pigeons, some only a loft of 25 or 30 pairs, while others as 
many as several thousand birds. There is one class of peo- 
ple who keep them as a side line to their regular business, 
and who raise enough squabs to supply their own table with 
meat. Pigeons can be raised profitably from a few pigeons 
to several thousand birds, with careful management, if the 
owner studies the business as one would do any other busi- 
ness. Besides the man who has from 50 to 100 birds for 
the purpose of producing his own meat, there is the large 
squab plant conducted solely for profit. The largest plants 
are usually classed as those having 500 or more pigeons. One 
of the largest plants is that of King Lofts, owned by C. R. 
King and located at Hayward, California. They have a total 
of 16,000 pigeons, kept primarily for the purpose of producing 
squabs for market. Of course, it is understood that a large 



190 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

plant can make more money than the average size plant, due 
to the fact that grain can be bought in larger quantities and 
squabs can be sold to the large hotels, private clubs, railroad 
companies and steamship lines in large quantities. 




— Courtesy American Pigeon Journal 
WHITE SWISS MONDAINE 

A list of questions on pigeon raising was recently sent out 
by the United States Department of Agriculture to pigeon 
breeders throughout the United States, and among other re- 
plies were received from 22 large breeders, who kept from 300 
to 2,200 pigeons and produced squabs for market. The rec- 
ord of these breeders are considered more acceptable to the 
commercial production of squabs than the replies which were 
received from breeders keeping only a few pigeons for home 
use or pleasure. The replies showed that the annual profit 
per pair of breeding stock varied from 32 cents to $3, and 
averaged $1.52. All squabs were sold for market, while about 
one-half sold both as breeders and for market. A great deal 
of valuable information was contained in these replies of in- 



THE PIGEON INDUSTRY 



191 



terest especially to commercial squab breeders, but the in- 
teresting fact to be noticed is that all showed a profit for 
each pair of breeding birds. 




-Courtesy American Pigeon Journal 



WHITE KING SQUAB, WEIGHING 1% LBS. AT THREE 
WEEKS OF AGE 

How to Start 

Too many people, when they get the "pigeon fever" want 
to start big at once. This, .many times, is the first step to- 
wards failure. The advice to a person who knows nothing 



192 



OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 




THE PIGEON INDUSTRY 193 

concerning the nature and characteristics of pigeons is to 
start small. By a "small start" is meant beginning with 
from five to twenty pairs of mated pigeons. In this way 
the beginner will learn the general management of pigeons, 
such as the feeding, watering, selection of breeders, banding. 
record keeping, killing, shipping and marketing. The plant 
can then be enlarged as one's knowledge increases. Then, 
also, by starting with a few birds you will find out whether 
or not you actually love your work, lor that is the greatest 
factor in the success of any business. 

Be sure to get guaranteed, mated and working birds from 
some reliable breeder, and not some "bargain lot." Be willing 
to pay a good price for breeders and be satisfied with nothing 
but the best for foundation stock. Good stock goes a long 
way toward success. 

What Breed to Select 

This is a very common question asked by the beginner 
and rightly so. There are eight prominent utility breeds 
of pigeons, namely, Carneaux, Homers, Mondaines, White 
Kings, Maltese, Hungarians, Runts and Polish Lynx. These 
are the most popular squab breeding varieties used in Amer- 
ica at this time and the advice would be to study carefully 
each breed and then select the one that suits you the best, 
considering the size of squabs produced, etc. One can make 
a success with any of the breeds mentioned, provided he will 
specialize on one breed and give this breed proper care and 
attention. One must study each breed and after having se- 
lected the one of his fancy, the breeder should make this his 
specialty, paying particular attention to culling and selection 
of breeding stock. It is of paramount importance for the be- 
ginner to get first-class birds from a reliable breeder, and, 
having done this, the chances are that the beginner will make 
a success, provided he takes the proper interest in his birds 
and will give them the necessary care and attention. Briefly, 
the" advice is this: Select your breed then stick to it. 

Advantages Over Poultry- 
Squab raising has several marked advantages over poul- 
try. Squabs are raised the year around and bring highest 



194 



OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 



prices during the winter montlis, when your hens usually 
unanimously decide to take a rest. No new blood is neces- 
sary every two or three years in raising pigeons. Pigeons 
stay mated for life and the average pair is profitable nine 
to ten years while in poultry, new blood is necessary every 
two or three years. Pigeons are not as susceptible to disease 
and are rarely bothered with lice or mites. The common 
chicken louse is not known to affect pigeons. 

Squabs are reared by the parent birds and therefore there 
is no bother with incubation; also, no need of worry about 
squabs drowning when a shower of rain comes, as the squabs 
are always under roof sitting quietly in the nest. Other ad- 




-Courtesy American Pigeon Journal 
RED CARNEAU 



THE PIGEON INDUSTRY 195 

vantages may be mentioned equally as important as the fore- 
going, such as less space needed, less equipment necessary, 
and smaller capital. 

Value of Squabs as a Food 
The pigeon is the only species of aerial bird kept in 
domestication to provide food for man. It is also the only 
useful domestic bird that is able to maintain itself and in- 
crease in numbers in populous districts without the care of 
man. Their value as food is primarily the use of the squabs 
which they raise. A squab is a young pigeon from four to 
five weeks of age and is called a squab as long as it remains 
in the nest. After it leaves the nest it loses in weight and 
is then called a youngster. Its growth is so rapid that at 
four weeks of age it is practically as large as the parent 
bird, fully feathered and ready for market. The average 
weight is from 14 to 24 ounces at four weeks of age, and 
sometimes even weighing as high as 26 ounces. However, 
all this depends upon the breed and the care and attention 
given the birds. 

Because of the fact that the squab remains more or 
less inactive in the nest for the first four weeks of its ex- 
istence, it becomes very fat, due to the generous feeding of the 
parent birds, and on account of lack of exercise, squab meat 
is exceptionally tender. Only the choicest grains are eaten 
by the parent birds and as the old birds are not scavengers, 
only clean, sweet food is fed to the squab. Squabs are. there- 
fore, one of the cleanest forms of meat. They are simply the 
result of a transformation of grain and cereals into animal 
flesh. Pigeons are exceptionally clean, in fact one of the 
cleanest of the bird family, and as a result, their squabs are 
most delicious and palatable. Squab meat is used for two 
general purposes, namely as a food for home consumption 
the same as any other meat, and for medicinal purposes. 

Profits 

The profits in the squab business are usually from three 
sources. They are selling squabs for market, selling adult 
birds for breeding stock to other pigeon breeders, and selling 
beautifully plummaged birds to firms who mount the birds 
and sell them to milliners, floral houses, undertakers and such 



196 



OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 



uses as might be found for mounted birds. The white plum- 
inaged bird is especially in demand for this class of trade, 
and thousands are used annually for this purpose, one of 
the largest firms using them being J. W. Crismore of Chicago. 
There are other sources of profit such as selling feathers 
plucked from squabs, disposing of the fertilizer to tanneries 
and florists. 

With proper care and attention one ought to realize at 
least 15 per cent profit on his investment, but if one has 
a large plant, having several thousand pairs of breeders, and 
with the best of culling, this profit sometimes is as high 
as 25 per cent. 

A good pair of birds should raise, on an average, from 
12 to 16 marketable squabs per year. The small breeds, such 
as the Homer and Maltese, raise the greatest number of squabs 
per year, averaging 9, 10, 11, and sometimes 12 pounds to the 
dozen, while the large breeds, such as the Mondaine and 




. Courtesy American Pigeon Journal 

ONE-UNIT SQUAB HOUSE READY FOR BIRDS 

Runt, do not raise, perhaps, as many but average 10, 11, 12, 
13 and 14 pounds to the dozen and some even as high as 15 
pounds to the dozen. But usually the final outcome is the 
same, since the number of pounds of squab meat produced per 
pair by the small breeds is equal to the number of pounds 
of squab meat produced per pair by the large breeds. 

Prices on squabs are based on the weight per dozen, and 
of course, the heavier the squabs, the greater the price. 
Squabs weighing 12 pounds to the dozen usually bring from 
$9 to $12 per dozen, depending upon the season of the year. 
It is usually considered that a pair of breeders should make 



THE PIGEON INDUSTRY 197 

a net profit of from $1 to $3.50 per year, depending entirely 
upon the cost of feed and the price received for squabs. How- 
ever, do not think that squab raising is a get-rich-quick busi- 
ness, for it certainly is not. But it is a very profitable 
business, and many large, successful plants are to be found 
throughout the country. Quite a number of squab men are 
making as much as $100 per month from their squab plants. 
WHY NOT YOU? 

Value of Pigeons as a Hobby 

The domestic pigeon is not only rendering a service as 
a means of profit, but also as a pleasure to the busy man. 
There are thousands of business and professional men who 
have a small loft of pigeons merely as a hobby, and are 
strictly fanciers. The birds are kept for the pleasure of 
raising something beautiful to the eye and it brings a spirit 
of satisfaction to the man who is able to realize his ideal 
along this line. There are many different varieties of so- 
called fancy or ornamental pigeons raised for show pur- 
poses only. A small pen of pigeons does not require much 
time, perhaps only 15 or 20 minutes daily for providing 
feed and water, because the old birds feed and take care of 
the young pigeons. This, then, forms an avocation to his 
regular work and a means of pleasure and diversification 
from his regular routine duties. The value of a hobby can 
readily be appreciated by a man who is kept busy with his 
tasks from day to day, as it gives him an opportunity to 
develop the artistic and aesthetic side of his nature, thus 
giving him a chance for expressing the finer sense of his 
nature. 

Annually throughout the country there are held many 
pigeon shows where the best of each variety is exhibited, and 
these shows mean much in developing the hobby as well as 
the business. Pigeon conventions are held throughout the 
country in connection with the large shows, and much in- 
terest is manifested in seeing who is able to produce the very 
best in his favorite breed. To raise a champion bird as near 
the official standard as it is possible for man to raise pigeons 
is indeed an art and something that can only be done by the 
experienced breeder after years of careful study of the laws 
and principles of heredity and environment. 



198 



OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 




DOUBLE NEST BOXES IN USE 



THE PIGEON INDUSTRY 199 

Pigeons Ideal Pets for Children 

Then there is also another value of the pigeon and one 
of great Importance in the life of the boy and girl. Most 
children love pets and a few pairs of pigeons make ideal pets 
for children. Many a man, in his youth, has spent his leisure 
time taking care of a few pairs of pigeons, studying their 
habits and learning their traits and characteristics. It is 
an ideal means of keeping the boy, who is in the adolescent 
period of life, at home, thus keeping his mind occupied with 
something that will be of value to him in after years. Pigeons' 
do not require so much care and attention as to make the 
work monotonous, but a few minutes each day is all that is 
required for attending to the needs of the birds. It teaches 
the boy to be responsible for his pets and to take care of their 
wants and needs, and the lesson of responsibility is one of 
great importance in the life of any child and in the shaping 
of his future character. Habits of obedience and promptness 
will necessarily be formed in taking care of his pets and 
these are traits of great value to him through life. It is in 
youth when the habits are formed which will make or un- 
make the boy, and if his mind can be occupied with the 
things of educational and cultural value, such as described 
above, it will teach him the first lesson of industry and 
citizenship. The problem of the youth in modern society is 
how to counteract the influence of the street gang and places 
of cheap amusement. Instead of wasting his after-school 
hours in conniving some mean trick with other boys running 
on the streets, or perpetrating something that they consider 
daring, his time will be spent learning the traits of the birds, 
and thus the boy is saved from the temptations and vices of 
the influences of evil. 

Traits and Characteristics of Pigeons 
The traits and characteristics of a pair of pigeons may 
be readily compared to family life. Unlike other birds, the 
pigeon is monogymous and remains true to its mate for life. 
Judging by modern social standards, it is doubtful whether 
we can make the same statement regarding present-day family 
life. There is no need for matrimonial bureaus and divorce 
courts. The cooing and courting of pigeons is very interest- 
ing. "When the male bird has selected one of the opposite sex, 



200 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

he begins the process of flirtation and courting with such 
a degree of proficiency as though he were a past master of 
the art. He will parade himself before the bird of his choice, 
displaying, to the best of his ability, his prowess, graceful 
step and beautiful plummage. This continues until he se- 
cures her attentions, and if to the contrary he is unsuccess- 
ful he repeats the performance to the next bird of his choice. 
If, however, he is successful, he is within her company 
most of the time, and will soon go house hunting. After 
they have selected a nest box for their home, both will share 
equally in the duties of the home and in the raising of the 
family. In the building of the nest, the one bird, usually 
the hen, will take its position in the nest box while the male 
will bring the desired straw or twigs of proper length to his 
mate who arranges them in the desired manner in the nest. 

The co-operation between male and female does not stop 
here, but continues during the incubation of the eggs as well 
as the raising of their young. Seemingly, union hours are ob- 
served by a pair of pigeons, as the male incubates the eggs 
during the six most pleasant hours of the day so that his 
partner may hav>e the pleasure of the board walk in the sun- 
shine and the joys of a refreshing bath on a hot summer day. 
Then, at about 4 o'clock in the afternoon, the hen will return 
to take charge of the home and continue throughout the night 
until about 10 o'clock in the morning, when the male will 
again take charge for the day. 

The eggs hatch after 17 days of incubation and both par- 
ents take equal responsibility of feeding the youngsters. When 
the squabs are about four weeks old they begin to leave the 
nest to take care of themselves, and then the parents start 
to prepare for the next nest of eggs. 

There are few men who would care to share equally in 
the work of the housewife, and especially in taking care of 
the home during the day, much less the night. Many an 
American home could learn a wonderful lesson of loyalty and 
constancy to their home and family life by watching and 
studying the traits of the domestic pigeon. 



THE PHEASANT INDUSTRY 201 

INSTRUCTIONS FOR HATCHING 
AND REARING OF PHEAS- 
ANTS AND GAME BIRDS 

By W. F. Kendrick, 
President American Game Association. 

THE hatching and rearing of pheasants and wild game 
birds for ages and centuries has been looked upon as 
an intricate nad mysterious process and in the old coun- 
try, especially in England and Continental Europe, has been 
under the management of professional game keepers. The 
head and under keepers often being on the same estates and 
preserves from generation to generation. The oldest son 
having the preference in the father's position. Many of these 
head game keepers having what they call their secret mix- 
tures that has brought them their success in feeding and rear- 
ing, which they impressively Impart to their sons. 

By faithful study of the nature of the pheasants, any 
industrious, intelligent person can successfully handle the 
situation. 

Pheasants can be reared by incubation and brooder, as 
shown by accompanying illustration of the picture of several 
hundred baby pheasants in the brooder, also where ther-e were 
common chickens and pheasants hatched at the same time, 
mixed. 

Feeding 

Feed exactly the same as with baby chicks, using hard 
boiled eggs freely with first foods, and in addition baby chick 
food dry mixtures, also may bake what the game keepers 
call Johnny cakes, composed of either whole wheat and corn 
ground together, or if buying, use a mixtures of bran, flour 
and corn meal, about one-third each, mixed with about four 
eggs to each quart, shells and all, and a tablespoonful of char- 
coal to the quart, which bake well, and after cooling put it 
through a grinder or crumble it by hand. Where you are 
feeding baby food to chicks hovered by a hen feed her corn 
so she will not consume too much Qt tJi? baby food. 



202 



OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 




















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THE PHEASANT INDUSTRY 203 

To the above, of course, are added fine sand, gravel, 
oyster shell or other grits, also an abundance of pure water, 
kept in clean modern water vessels, by which the birds can 
drink freely without getting wet and the water protected 
from the hot sun. 

These same foods will answer for partridges, quail, prairie 
chickens, peafowl, turkeys and water fowl. 

In addition to this you can use the modified form of the 
English and European method' as used by imported game 
keepers, so that you may be posted and decide what system 
you wish to adopt, or are prepared to adopt, owing largely to 
the magnitude on which you handle the business. 

Hatching and Rearing of Pheasants by Modified 
English Method 
The accompanying illustration (see page 202) of one end 
of some setting boxes, and picketing of the hens for feeding, 
will give a good idea of this method which was established by 
a gamekeeper who came from England for that purpose. The 
next head gamekeeper, a Scotchman, also came over for the 
purpose, cut off the stakes even with the ground and drove a 
nail in the top to which he tied the string and the hen could 
not wind up the tether about the stake. Another head keeper 
uses brooder boxes instead of stakes. 

Hatching Boxes 

The hatching boxes are constructed first of partition 
boards of 14 inches long, of which hundreds of pieces are 
cut ready for use. Then take a board for the back of the 
box, 16 feet long and 12 inches in width, and line it every 
12^ inches, making 15 setting boxes. For the front of the 
box use 10-inch boards, 16 feet long, marked identical with 
the back board. In these are nailed the partitions, which 
are 14 inches long, 10 inches in width, and 12-12 inches cen- 
ter to center. Taking out the thickness of the board parti- 
tion, one inch, leaves the size of the nesting box 11^x14 
inches, inside measure. On top of these put lids made of 
13-inch board and fasten at the upper end with canvas hinges, 
as shown in the picture. 

These boxes, in the fall, after the hatching season is over, 
are taken apart, the nails taken out, and the boards piled up 
as lumber to be used again the next season. But before using 



204 



OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 



these boards boil them in a solution of lime and salt water, 
adding a little crude carbolic acid, so that the cracks in the 
boards may be thoroughly filled to protect the hens from in- 
sect pests. Cleanliness is the first requirement in the pheas- 
ant business. 

The nest boxes, after being constructed, are placed on 
level ground and one or two inches of damp earth put into 
each box. A good way to prepare the nest is to use fine soft 
blue grass hay, winding a portion of it into a rope one inch 
in thickness and about three feet long, then place it inside the 
nesting box on the earth, as the outside of the nest. Inside 
of this lay a one-half inch coating of hay, laid all one way, 
on which to place the eggs. After the eggs are hatched a 
nest made in this way will be almost as perfect as in the 
beginning. 




— Courtesy of W. F. Kendrick 
PAIR GOLDEN PHEASANTS 

Placing the Eggs 
Place from 14 to 18 pheasant eggs under each hen, ac- 
cording to her size and the time of year. The warmth from 
the hen brings up more or less moisture from the earth, keep- 
ing the eggs from drying out too rapidly; although the last 
week sprinkle them daily with warm water. As you may 
set several thousand hens during the season, take whatever 
you have on hand or can readily buy. As a rule the mon- 
grel, or common barnyard hen is preferable as it is usually 
not so heavy; although you can use many thoroughbred White 
Rocks and other fowls of like weight. 

Care and Attention 
These hens are dusted with a powder to kill vermin and 
put on trial nests with glass eggs for one or two days before 



THE PHEASANT INDUSTRY 205 

they are put on the pheasant eggs. 

The hens are fed and watered daily at about the same 
hour, being allowed to remain off the nest, according to the 
temperature, from 10 to 20 minutes for the purpose of eating 
and drinking. The hen will soon become so accustomed to 
being tethered that before the hatching period is over many 
of them will remain near the stake at which they are fed if 
their tether slips off. In taking the hen off the nest, do so 
with both hands, but in returning her to the nest it is hard 
to use both hands, so take the thumb above the backbone of 
the hen and two fingers underneath, one each side of tiie 
rear end of the breast-bone. A hen can be held in this way 
without molesting the feathers or hurting her and can be 
put on the nest quietly. If the hen commences to strike at 
the board on her nest with her feet, tip her body up and set 
her down quietly and at the same time, with the free hand, 
hold the lid close to her head, closing the lid as the hen is 
put on the nest. 

The necessity for having a high and close box for a hen 
setting on pheasant eggs is that it is the nature of the pheas- 
ant when it is hatched to run away from its mother, like that 
of the partridge. The saying is that a young partridge will 
run with the shell on its back. Most of the hens setting on 
pheasant eggs without an enclosure lose most, and in some 
instances, all of the young pheasants. 

The Setting Hen 
The food for the setting hen is largely wheat, cracked 
barley, corn or oats. Also see that plenty of grit is given 
them. Give the h-ens water in dishes that are kept clean. If 
their feet are soiled while off the nest, have them washed 
or cleaned before putting them back. While they are off the 
nest see that the nest and eggs are in good order. If there 
is a broken one, take it out and wash with warm water any 
that are soiled. 

Cleanliness 
Clean the feeding ground each time after the hens are 
put back on their nests, being sure to return each hen to 
her own nest; put out fresh water and grain before picketing 
out the next lot of hens. Twenty-five picket posts, or brooder 
boxes, according to method used, can take care of several 
hundred hens by using them in relays. 



206 



OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 




REEVES PHEASANT HELD BY W. F. KENDRICK 



THE PHEASANT INDUSTRY 207 

Record Keeping 

The head gamekeeper and assistant should look after the 
hatching, each egg is examined before setting, the lid of each 
box is inscribed with the kind of eggs, date, etc. The last 
box in photo on page 202 is No. 655, 5-12, 6-2. Goldens, set 
May 12, due to hatch June 2nd. The whole battery of boxes 
are marked so that the keepers know when each hen is due 
to hatch and the kind of birds. When hatched and dry the 
head keeper delivers each hen with fifteen babies to an under 
keeper in the rearing field. Any hen not a good hatcher is 
put in fattening pen and her young divided up to average 15 
birds to each hen put in the rearing fields. When the head 
keeper turns them over to his under keepers at the rate of 
80 hens and brood of 1,200 babies to each under keeper or 
feeder, who is held responsible for the successful rearing of 
the birds. 

Brooding and Care of Young Pheasants in 
Rearing Field 

Modified English-Scotch-European Method 
The stepmother, or common hen from the poultry yard, 
used for hatching the eggs, is placed with the newly-hatched 
chick pheasants in a brooder coop, closed for first day, in 
front of which the under keeper attaches a closed runway. 
Coops are made 22 inches wide in front. Make this runway 
22 inches wide to fit all coops, and four feet long, with side- 
board 12 inches high, and where there is danger from mag- 
pies, cats or vermin, cover this with one-inch mesh wire. 
This allows the little birds to only get four feet away from 
the mother for the first three or four days, until they become 
accustomed to the hen's call. After that the keeper quietly 
removes the runway, giving the birds the run of the field. 
There is a shutter made of light material to close the front 
of each coop after dark. This serves to teach the young 
birds to remain in the coop, so they can be caught to be re- 
moved from the field, and also protects them from vermin. 

The feeders wear, as near as possible, the same looking 
clothes and move quietly, allowing no dogs within the field, 
nor strangers, in order to keep the birds quiet and under 
control; otherwise, the birds are liable to become frightened 
and run away. At any time between six and eight weeks old 



208 



OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 




THE PHEASANT INDUSTRY 209 

they are removed to their permanent quarters, especially if 
they are to be put into enclosures. 

The birds are brooded in meadows with roadways kept 
cut through the grass six to ten feet wide, laid out like streets 
of the city, shown in accompanying photo, allowing the young 
birds exercise and food in the sunshine, or to run into high 
grass for hunting bugs and in which to hide when fright- 
ened. 

The coops are moved every day or two, the width of the 
same, or as far as necessary to get it onto clean ground. 
Coops are placed 40 feet apart. In stormy weather place 
coops in the field two or more days ahead of the time you 
expect to use them, in order to have the ground dry on which 
to place the hen and young birds. 

The birds are not fed until they are from 24 to 48 hours 
old, giving time for the digestion of the yolk of the egg 
taken into the digestive organs of the bird just before it is 
hatched, supplying sufficient food for the first two days or 
more. 

Sand or very fine grit can be put into the coop when it 
is put in the field or at their first feeding, and it should be 
furnished them until they are old enough to gather it from 
the ground. 

The first food game feeders give the birds is prepared 
from •^gg boiled from 20 to 30 minutes, to make them mealy 
and easily digestible, and passed through a colander or sieve. 
This is mixed and rubbed or chopped with ground barley, 
ground whole wheat meal, or with toasted bread, dry bread 
crumbs or Johnny cake. 

The food is just moist, not wet, but so it will crumble 
through the fingers. Never feed young birds sloppy foods. 

Where barley or whole wheat meal cannot be secured, the 
bread crumbs or toasted bread and fine corn meal can be 
used. 

When five days old, a little rice with a very little boiled 
meat finely chopped and rubbed is mixed with the above. 
Boiled rabbit is a favorite dish among the English feeders 
for either young or old pheasants. Rub it thoroughly In the 
Johnny cake so it is not pasty. One hard boiled egg in the 
food is sufficient for 50 or 60 birds for one meal. 

Feed at 6 and 10 a. m. and 2 and 6 p. m. Feed but little 



210 



OUTDOuR OPPORTUNITIES 



at a time, no more than the birds will eat, and want a little 
more. Food left on the ground to sour may sicken them. 

At ten days old hemp seed, wheat or hulled barley, or 
finely ground corn meal or oat meal can be gradually added. 

At two weeks gradually drop off the feeding of eggs, 
and at the same time add the feeding of cooked meats. 

Pure linseed oil or lin^^eed oil meal in the food at the age 
of from two to three weeks aids in the growth of the feathers. 
At this date cracked grain of diff'crent kinds is added to the 
bird food. 




— Courtesy of W. F. Kendrick 

CHINESE RINGNECK COCK PHEASANT 

Cottage cheese, made from sour milk, is often added to 
the bird food, either fed to them separately or mixed with 
their food after they are a week old. 

Where parties have not an ordinary sieve they can use 
mosquito wire for rubbing the food through. 
o y-jln order to save the bird food the game keeper places it 
-on the clean grass in front of the coop, where the hen can 
only r^aeh a small part of it; feeding the hen a mixture of 
wheat, corn and barley, either whole or cracked. 

When insect life is plentiful the young birds often secure 



THE PHEASANT INDUSTRY 



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OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIZi; 



enough insects and larvae from the plant life, and worms 
from the ground, so they eat but little of the prepared food. 




t "uutlcsy of W. F. Kendrick 

REINHARD'S PHEASANT 



The pheasant is an insectivorous bird and will eat insects 
and worms in preference to grain, when obtainable. 



THE PHEASANT INDUSTRY 



213 



When more food is given the birds than they will eat 
at a time, either gather it up or cover it with earth, so that 
birds cannot eat soured food. This is an important part of 
feeding. It is better to feed so they will clean the ground 
than to overfeed, as they are liable to cause trouble by pick- 
ing up the old or rancid food. Only mix up the amount 
of moist food you wish to use at one tim-e. 




— Courtesy of W. F. Kendrick 

PAIR SILVER PHEASANTS 



The birds you wish to keep in open top enclosures, com 
mence clipping the eight flight feathers from one wing ai 
about seven weeks old, being very careful not to clip a green 
feather that would bleed, as it injures the bird and in hot 
weather is liable to become fly-blown, which would kill the 



214 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

bird. This process is repeated about five times, two weeks 
apart, which will do until the birds moult the coming sea- 
son, and prevent them from flying. When pinioning is 
adopted the wing is clipped when a few days old. 

Where there are but few birds the food can be prepared 
on the kitchen stove, or use dry mixtures. 




— Courtesy of W. F. Kendrick 
PHEASANTS 

At most places the early birds are given food prepared 
at the cookery at the buildings, but in the main rearing sea- 
son, when each feeder has from 80 to 100 coops to look after, 
the cooking is done almost entirely in the fields, and the 
men live and sleep among or near the birds. 

When birds are reared to be liberated, as in England, 
they are usually moved to the game fields when six weeks old, 
accompanied by their stepmother hen, or at eight weeks old 
if not accompanied by the hen. The under game keepers or 
feeders continue with them, to feed, care for and keep them 
from straying and protect them from their enemies until 
after the shooting season. 



BANTAMS 215 

CARE AND MANAGEMENT 
OF BANTAMS 

By A. C. Smith. 

BANTAMS are the "Shetland ponies" of poultry. They 
are miniatures of the regular breeds, the dwarfs of 
larger fowls 

Like the nurserymen have developed dwarf varieties of 
fruit tre-es for use on small lots, so the bantam fanciers have 
developed a dwarf variety of poultry — similar to the large 
varieties in everything except size, and which can be raised 
in small space. 

There is practically no difference between a bantam 
and a regular chicken, except as to size. They weigh less, 
eat less, lay smaller eggs. Instead of requiring large houses, 
they use "doll houses." Instead of needing a big run or 
yard, they require only a small one or none at all. In other 
words, they are treated and fed like big fowls, except on a 
reduced plan. 

Bantams are far from being a pet or plaything, although 
they are all of that. They lay as many eggs as their big 
sisters and, while they are smaller, still it takes less feed to 
produce them and are larg'er in proportion to the size of 
the fowl. If eggs were valued by weight, instead of by the 
dozen, you would find that bantams will produce them just 
as cheaply or cheaper. Three bantam eggs are equal to 
two regular ones. 

Just as many city and town people plant dwarf fruit 
trees on their lots instead of regular ones, so do many per- 
sons with small and limited space satisfy their desire for 
chickens by raising bantams. You can get all the pleasure, 
experience and satisfaction out of bantams that you can out 
of regular poultry. On a limited amount of space you can 
raise many more bantams than you could full-sized chickens. 
You can get as many or more eggs for the food used — you 
can sell all you raise at as high or higher a price. In other 
words, you can go in for bantams and find them just as prof- 
itable as the larger breeds, with far more pleasure and less 
work and expense. 



216 



OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 



Bantams and bantam houses are an ornament to any 
back yard, instead of being a nuisance, as regular chickens 
often are. They do not n-eed a range and even if let loose, 
are not wanderers. You can keep bantams anywhere, and 
they are the only chickens you can keep in many places 
without being an annoyance to your neighbors. Nobody could 
possibly object to bantams. 




GOLDEN SEABRIGHT BANTAM 

You can keep a dozen bantams in the same size space 
that four regular chickens would require and for about the 
same feeding exp-ense. Your dozen bantams would produce 
many more eggs than the four full sized. Bantams are gen- 
tle, tame, easily handled, and a constant source of pride and 
pleasure for -every member of the family. 

The Kind to Raise 

The most popular of all bantams are the Cochins — white, 
buff, partridge and black. 



Origin, Description, Buying Stock, Etc. 

The Buff Cochin Bantam is of ancient origin; credit 
has been given to the Chinese for the production and culti- 



BANTAMS 217 

vation of the Bantam- The history of the Pekin, or Cochin, 
as far as one can determine, sliows that the first birds se- 
cured were from the city of Pekin, China, hence the name 
"Pekin" in relation to th-e Bantam. 

A COCHIN BANTAM is supposed to be a "midget" or di- 
minutive Bantam, certainly noted for its smallness. On-e of the 
most important features about this specie of the poultry 
family is the shape. H'ead should be small; comb, single and 
evenly serrated; face, ear-lohes, and wattles must be bright 
red; eyes, red or as nearly so as possible; beaks, a rich yel- 
low; neck and back of male should have plenty of hackel 
and saddle feathers flowing well over the should'ers and 
saddle; breast, broad and full, and fluff very abundant; tail 
should be carried rather horizontally, broad but short. 

BLACK COCHIN BANTAMS. These are being bred to a 
high degree of perfection, and they are just as popular as any 
of the Cochins. They poss-ess a greenish black all over, with 
bright red comb, face, wattles and ear-lobes. These Ban- 
tams are very attractive indeed, and "hard to beat," as the 
saying is. 

LIGHT BRAHMA BANTAMS. These are after the order 
which their name implies, but have been bred down to little 
midgets. They ar-e especially attractive to look at, and lay 
the largest and most eggs of any variety of the Bantam. 
These kind of birds are recommended to those who have 
very limited space to keep their stock, yet want the greatest 
possible production, as this kind of stock does well in close 
confinement. 

Feeding 

Bantams are fed much as ordinary chickens are, except 
much less. A few pens of bantams could -easily be kept on 
the table scraps of the ordinary family with maybe a little 
grain, just before going to roost. 

Housing 

Bantams require only a "play-house." A very practical 
and serviceable house can b'e made from a dry goods box, 
by covering it with tar paper to keep it warm and dry. A 
house three feet deep and five feet long will hold comfort- 
ably a pen of one rooster and four or five hens. Have the 



218 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

house about thirty inches high in front, sloping to twenty 
inches in the rear. The floor should be of boards covered with 
straw or chaff. Provide a roost in the rear and several nest 
boxes. It should be built with three sides solid and front 
covered with chicken wire and a waterproof curtain for 
use in inclement weather. A small wire-covered run can be 
provided, if desired. Such houses can be nicely painted 
and will make an ornament for any back yard. 

Breeding 

Bantams should be kept in pens of from three to six— 
or one rooster to two to five hens. Inbreeding is quite large- 
ly practiced among bantam breeders. Cochin Bantams make 
the best setters and mothers of any variety of chicken. They 




WHITE BANTAM 

hatch every hatchable egg and raise every chick hatched. 
Buff Cochin Bantams are used by pheasant breeders to hatch 
pheasant eggs and raise the baby pheasants. Breeders of 
the very highest priced fancy chickens often hatch out their 
eggs from prize-winning stock under bantams, as they are 
sure of a maximum hatch and the best of care of the little 
chicks. Give a bantam mother clean, dry and warm quar- 
ters and sh© will raise every chicken. 



BANTAMS 219 

Hatching 

May and June are the best months to hatch Bantams. 
April, July and August are not favorable months, while Sep- 
tember is all right if you have a suitable place to care for the 
chicks in winter. 

The -eggs can be set under Bantams or large hens, but 
you have to be careful to see that if the chicks are hatched 
by a large hen that she does not step on the youngsters and 
kill them, which is quite likely to happen if due care is not 
given to this matter. 

Bantam Profits 

Bantams are profitable because there is a wide market 
for all you raise at a fancy price. There are nothing like 
enough bantams in the country today to supply the demand. 
We know, because we have tried ourselves to buy them in 
large quantities and cannot find them. Almost any kind of 
a bantam will sell for more than an ordinary chicken. At 
the same time it costs much l-ess to feed and raise them. 

Bantams are truly the chickens to raise for pleasure 
and profit. No other will give you so much enjoyment. No 
other will so appeal to every member of the family. There 
is not a boy or girl who will not love them and enjoy them. 
They can be made as tame as a puppy. The eggs they lay 
are as good as those of their big sisters and the children 
seemingly enjoy them more. They are an ornament to any 
yard. The pleasure of exhibiting them at poultry shows is 
unlimited. There are no entries that create so much interest- 
From every standpoint, bantams are the ideal chickens to 
raise, and are, in fact, the only kind that one with limited 
space at his disposal can raise with any degree of satis- 
faction. 

Success Pointers 

Keep your chicks free from lice, give them clean, dry 
quarters, clean water, dry food in abundance, and you have 
the four main essentials in rearing Bantams for Pleasure 
and Profit. 



220 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

THE CANARY 

By H. a. Hassler. 

Breeding, Feeding, Care and Management 

CANARIES have been used as cage birds for so many cen- 
turies that they are really thoroughly domesticated and 
have lost practically all of their wild characteristics. 
Of all small cage birds, they are most popular, as they are 
hardy, require comparatively little care and are charming 
songsters. 

Selecting Stock 

If you wish to breed canaries, use judgment in selec- 
tion. The pale lemon colored bird, called in Germany the 
roller, on account of the rolled tones in his song, stands at 
the top. Those with darker color are birds crossed with 
linnets, and are also wonderful singers, having the rolled 
tones, and both are capable of being taught to imitate the 
notes of certain wild birds and, more wonderful still, the 
notes of a violin. 

Do not breed a fine singer to any old kind of a hen, as 
we estimate that 3-5 of the blood lines are carried by the fe- 
male. 

When wishing a singer, select the bird whose song pleases 
you, then give him the right food in the right quantities, 
and protect him from draughts, and he will keep in song. 
The male is the finer singer and on the job all the time. The 
female, of course, on account of family cares will not be so 
ready at all times to entertain you. 

There is a registration system now in force which guar- 
antees to you the breed and quality of the bird you buy in 
the certificate which goes with it. 

Breeding 

It is very easy to breed and raise canaries, provided you 
select good, strong, healthy birds from a prolific strain. Buy 
only birds with a registration certificate in a National As- 
sociation. 

With a record of the bird's breeding, you may intelligent- 
ly set about to raise birds. Related birds are not desirable 
for breeding unless you wish to line breed, and this should 
not be attempted by an amateur. 



THE CANARY 



221 



If directly related birds are bred, you will get weaklings, 
worthless and short lived. 

Sometimes it is difficult to get a certain pair mated. 
You must remember that they must be ready to mate. And 
that they are sometimes nervous. 

There are many ways to make them mate. One is to 
place them in cages side by side so that they will flirt aiid 
get acquainted, and it goes without saying that each must 
be in the pink of condition. If you think you will have to 
use a tonic, get some from a dealer who KNOWS. 

It is best to alternate in the ages of birds bred. With 
common sense treatment, one can raise a number of good birds 
from a good pair each year. When the birds are about two 
weeks old the hen is ready for another nest. 




THE AUTHOR AND A TAMED CANARY 

Birds, when breeding, may be given a more liberal diet. 
Add a fourth part of summer rape to the staple food. A 
small teaspoonful of the mixture of equal parts of Hemp, 
Maw, White Millet and Linseed may be given to the cocks 
every second day and to the hens twice a week. Egg Food 
and crushed bread or biscuits should be given the cocks 
twice a week and to the hens once a week. Also some dainty 
green food, like lettuce or apple, placed between the wires. 

Now after the hatching process is over, you may allow 
the young to remain with their parents as long as they are 
kind to them. The mother bird may be your guide as na- 



222 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

titre has taught her. The cock bird will often feed the birds 
through a cage placed near enough, and this develops the 
muscles of the young and their tiny frames. 

When you take the young birds out, place them in a 
flight cage, which is larger than the ordinary one, so as to 
make the needed exercise possible. Keep them for a time on 
the diet of hard boiled eggs, chopped up, and crushed cracker 
crumbs, then for a time, give nothing but plain canary seed. 

Careful Feeding 

When birds are moulting some of the diet prescribed for 
them at breeding time is required, and bread and milk may 
be given, being sure to drain off all of the milk. Also clean 
gritty sand should sometimes be supplied. 

Cleanliness is essential. The foods must be fresh. Bear 
in mind that many seeds are old and musty, and that your 
bird will starve before it will touch seeds that have been 
visited by rats and mice. 

The water should also be fresh. Place a cuttle bone be- 
tween the wires. They will sharpen their bills on it. Keep 
gravel in for them, and a little tempting lettuce or clean 
peeled apple. The birds' main diet should be Spanish Canary 
seed and German Summer Rape, the former being fed in the 
proportion of three parts to one of the larger hemp, this 
latter being too fattening. 

The Canary Bath 
Cleanliness is essential, not only of the food, but of the 
cage and tbe water given for the bath. Two or three times 
a week is often enough for the bird to bathe, and right here 
let us caution you about never allowing the bird to stay in 
a wet cage. 

Do you know that birds sometimes refuse to bathe be- 
,cause they slip on the bottom of the tubs? A little gravel 
or sand will help. And in cold weather, the water should be 
rearmed a little. 

> Dust will ruin the voice of a canary, so cleanliness even 
of the atmosphere is essential. You can remove your bird's 
cage to another room if sweeping and dusting without a 
vacuum cleaner. 

Caring for Your Canary at Night 
Wild birds naturally seek their roosts at dusk, but a 
canary cannot do this in a lighted room, so you may cover 



THE CANARY 



22r 




-Photo by Kadel & Herbert, N. Y. 

TEACHING BIRDS HOW TO SING 



224 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

its cage with paper at nightfall, using one thickness in sum- 
mer and three in winter, with the paper fitting closely about 
the lower part of the cage and extending several inches above 
the ring which supports it. 

When moving a canary from one place to another, cover 
the container completely with manilla paper, and make holes 
about the size of a dollar near each drinking or food vessel, 
also other holes with a lead pencil, for air. 

Caring for the Health of Your Birds 
Following above suggestions should keep your birds abso- 
lutely well. However, should they be ill GIVE NO GREEN 
FOOD AT THIS TIME. Even the moulting time will not be 
critical if the birds are kept under healthy conditions and 
properly fed. 

More About Moulting Time and Exercise 
As we have said, it is most advisable to allow the young 

birds extra space for exercise until they have entered into 

their moult, when they should be placed in their small, quiet 

cages in a warm, quiet place, in twos and threes. They will 

feed better this way. 

When some portion of the new feathers begin to come 

in, about two weeks after the moulting time starts, it is 

best to shut out some of the light. Also a few grains gt 

linseed will add lustre and finish to the new feathers. Just a 

few grains for each bird about twice a week. 

The Development for Song, or Training a Roller 
The care of canaries for breeding is somewhat different 
from that required for the development of song tours. This 
song training may begin as soon as the young cocks are. in 
the flight cage, at about tour weeks, or even younger. 

In the elementary stage, only a twittering is noticed, 
vWhich, however, day by day becomes louder and stronger, 
and even in the early days one can distinguish plainly in 
some of the more forward birds, the tours in their songs. 
The general opinion is that the moult hinders development 
of song. It will be found that the birds which have made 
the most progress in the moult will show the greatest ad- 
vancement in their song. 

The above rules are not hard and fast. You can use 
your judgment and common sense with your birds. Differ- 
ent climates and different conditions should govern you. 



THE CANARY 225 

The Demand for Canaries 

. 19 principal demand for song birds comes from the 

bird lovers in the homes. But a great fad for using these 
birds in the higher class Motion Picture Houses, the artistic 
Cafes and in Hotel Lobbies and in other public places is 
growing rapidly. 

Some Other Breeds of Canaries Are 

The Saint Andreasburg, noted for singing in the even- 
ing; the Campanini Holden, raised and bred by the most 
successful breeders and which has a wonderful soft, full, me- 
lodious voice, and the Manchester and the Norwich of the 
English Canary strains. These last are noted and greatly 
admired for their many odd wild bird notes. And also there 
are the Red Canary and the Gold Spangled Lizard Canary, 
which originated in England. 

Those birds known as "mule" canaries are produced by 
crossing the canary with some other bird. 

Traditions, Facts and Fancies About Canaries 

Some people place a rusty nail in the birds bath tub 
to supply the iron they believe necessary. 

Canary seed is small. Hemp and Rape are larger. Feed 
the greater proportion of the small seeds. 

When the birds are breeding keep mite powder around, 
and use a brush dipped in kerosene around the cage weekly. 

Or place a thick cotton flannel cloth over the cage at 
night, and iron with a hot iron to kill any mites which may 
collect on it. 

Should you be breeding a large number and you find the 
birds in the moulting season developing the mischevious 
habit of plucking feathers from each other, you may tie pieces 
of unraveled string to the wires of the cage and let the birds 
amuse themselves by playing with these. 

A little electric light placed in the top of the beautiful 
wicker cages of the "music birds" in certain theaters makes 
them sing at night. 

Your bird will build her own beautiful nest from pieces 
of paper, rags and string. 

Canaries belong to the finch family, noted for their apt- 
ness in being trained to sing music other than their own 
natural song. 

To sum up, the canary is a beautiful and attractive bird, 
a real songster and a charming pet. 



226 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

MAKING MONEY WITH BEES 

By Wm. (Bill) Axderson. 

ANOTHER outdoor industry which invites you to step 
into the avenue of pleasure and profit is that of Bee 
Culture. 
There are unlimited opportunities in this enterprise for 
the would-be get-ahead, and you can make your business just 
as large as you want it to be, which will d-epend wholly and 
solely upon the time and effort you give to the same; the 
more of your personal attention you give to the enterprise 
the more money you will make. 

You Can Start Right on Your Own Lot 

You can start right at home — on your own lot — in your 
spare time. You need not give up your position until you 
have firmly established your business where it will take 
up your full time, and p-erhaps the time of others, so that 
you will be an employer in place of an employee. Hundreds 
have done it, so can you. 

The Honey Bee 

The bee which supplies man with one of his most pop- 
ular luxuries, namely, Hon-ey, is commonly known as the 
"Honey Bee," or "The Little Busy Bee," because of its great 
industrial qualities as well as being an insect of social life 
and activity. 

SMALL CAPITAL REQUIRED. By following the in- 
structions given below you will find that you do not re- 
quire expensive equipment; just simple things are needed 
which can be made at home by any handy man, or the 
equipment may be purchased at very moderate cost- It is 
a business which takes but very little capital in the start, 
and from that humble beginning it is possible to grow with- 
out limit. 

The Start 

The following are some of the things you will need; some 
of th'e Bee-Keepers' terms are used to describe the hives and 
accessories. 



BEE KEEPING 227 

The Brood Chamber is the lower compartment of the 
hive, and it may otherwise be called "the home." In this 
chamber the Queen Bee lays the eggs from which the young 
are hatched. 

The Super is a frame the same length and breadth of 
the brood chamber and about five inches high, or about the 
height of th'e pound frames of honey one can see in the 
stores. This super is placed on the brood chamber about the 
time you notice that the worker bees have the brood cham- 
ber filled with honey, that is, wh-en they have the cells that 
are not filled with brood, filled with honey. 

A Veil is also needed. This can be home-made and can 
be put on over the hat and- come down over the shoulders and 
then tied under the arms. 

To pry open the cover of the hive a putty knife can be 
used and small screwdriver can b-e used to start the frames. 




THE AUTHOR, WM. (BILL) ANDERSON 
Also a Noted Rabbit Fancier 

Now pay particular attention to the situation, and you 
will be able to s-ee the Queen. She is much longer than the 
Bees and is always in motion. She is truly as "Busy as a 
Bee;" turn the frame around, (NOT over) as if you hold 
it flat, the Queen may fall off and you would not notice her. 

In your operations, if you see th-ere is capping over 
honey cells for about an inch along the top of the frame, 
it is time to put on a "super." After you have done this, 
look at it about every three days and when you &ee that they 



228 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

have the cells all drawn out and about the time they are 
commencing to cap them over, lift this "super" off and place 
another where it was, and put the first one on the top. The 
Bees will immediately start to work drawing out the lower 
foundation and at the same time finish the upper or first 
one. 

The "super" holds ten frames and each frame when well 
filled will weigh about five or six pounds of honey, and in 
a good season a spl*endid colony will fill four or even five 
or six "supers," according to how far the Bee will have to 
travel for the nectar. 

The hives should be placed facing South, and if you can 
have them along the south side of a fence, it will be ideal for 
winter. Of course, there are different kinds of hives, but 
the beginner is advised to get th'e H'offman ten-frame stand- 
ard hive, and after you have secured the first one, you can 
go ahead and make the others from the sample you have, 
and thus reduce your cost of equipment. 

Again, be sure to place your bees in a sheltered spot, and 
if unabl'e to let the hives face exactly south, then if pos- 
sible, let them face southeast or southwest; be sure to avoid 
northern exposure as it has proved disastrous to many an 
enterprising Bee-Keep-er. The old saying is, "Being fore- 
warned is being forearmed," and if you attend to this mat- 
ter of locating your hives as advised you will experience no 
trouble at all that can be attributed to hive location. 

Before starting you should Investigate your proposed 
location very carefully, and also ascertain that the bees have 
no great distance to go to get to the flowers from which 
they draw the perfumed nectar, which is far preferable to 
them than to be fed upon moistened sugar. The bee not 
only takes honey from the flower; for the young, which are 
not little bees, but tiny "grubs," are not fed on honey, but 
on "bee bread," which is the pollen the flower visiting bees 
carry home on their thighs. 

The bee is the only insect which makes any contribution 
to the food of man, and is the most highly developed and 
intelligent of the insects. Bee culture is undoubtedly a very 
practicable and profitable enterprise. A small back yard 
in any suburb, or lot, can be used very successfully to de- 
velop this highly interesting and ever growing business- 



BEE KEEPING 



229 



There is room for hundreds of people to start in this in- 
teresting mon-ey-making enterprise, for Bee-Keeping is fol- 
lowed by a few people in comparison to poultry raising and 
other outdoor enterprises It is not necessary to start in a 
big way, but if you have a location for your bees which is 
within easy distance of the growth of white clover, sweet 
clover or mellot, heartease or smart weed and other blos- 
soms, one can very directly add to his income by having this 
Bee-Culture as a sideline, if you do not feel disposed to go 
large enough to make of it a regular employ. 




- — i^huio oy Kadel & Herbert 

A SUCCESSFUL BEE FARM MAINTAINED ON THE FLAT ROOF OF 

A FIVE-STORY APARTMENT HQUSE IN THE HEART 

OF SEATTLE, WASHINGTON. 



The raising of bees for commercial purposes is not a 
simple matter of placing a hive in a suitable place, how- 
ever, and for a swarm of bees to be within it. There are 
quite a few things to learn and which must be attended to; 
these you will gradually learn and experience as time 
goes on. 



230 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

Attending to the Hive 

We will presume that you have gotten your first colony 
from a reliable source and that the season of spring is here; 
that the bees have been working for two weeks, and at 
present are out- Choose a warm day; the hours of 10 a. 
m. and 3 p m. is a good time to attend to the hive, as most 
of the workers are then out of the hive ,and th'ey are also 
more quiet. 

Take the top off the hive (as before indicated), being 
very careful in doing this; mov« slowly, yet deliberately. If 
you use a veil you will need a smoker. Some Bee-Keep- 
ers smoke cigars during the time they are attending to the 
hive, and they blow a few puffs of smoke over and down on 
the top of the open hive. When you have removed the cover, 
set it to one side and be sure you stand at the rear — or at 
least on one side. 

Now lift out one of th-e frames. You will note that all 
but li inches around the ends and top and bottom is capped 
over; this is known as "brood," or young bees. You will 
also see at the back of some of the cells a white object, curled 
up; this is the "grub," or young b-ee that has not been sealed 
up or "capped" over- In some of the cells you will see a 
substance that glistens, which you will readily understand 
to be honey. 

Here are a few other terms that are used by Be-e-Keep- 
ers, which words you should become familiar with and know 
their meaning. 

THE QUEEN. She is the mother and lays all the -eggs, 
which is her only duty. Average life of the Queen Bee is 
two to five years. 

THE WORKER — as his name implies, is the industrial- 
ist; th-ey build the combs, rear the brood by feeding it and 
maintaining its warmth; they harvest the honey; chase in- 
truders away, and also keep the hive clean- Average life 
of "The Worker" is 40 days if she is flying about and 
ke-eps busy, which is generally the case with her; she really 
"wears herself out." During the winter months, when she 
is in much repose, her life may be ext-ended to something like 
a period of six months. 



BEE KEEPING 231 

THE DRONES. These are the largest inhabitants of the 
hive. They are just what their name implres; they do not 
work at all, but feed on that which is within the hive and 
spend their life in pleasantly flying around, etc. After a 
drone has mated he di-es in that act; two drones are suffi- 
cient to fertilize the young queens of a colony. 

To keep and care for living things is most interest- 
ing and instructing to anyone, and the person who becomes 
interested in Bee Culture and will follow the course rightly 
will prove it to be a source of profit as well as pleasure. 

This articl'e has been prepared for the purpose of giving 
brief instruction in Bee Culture- No doubt when the enter- 
priser gets well started, by reason of the instructions here 
given, he may want to team more of the things necessarily 
to be done in order to extend his business. In a case of 
this kind the publishers of this work will be glad to ren- 
der their help to such a person. 



234 



OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 



This variation in time is brought about by climatic 
changes. 

There are many enemies of the egg mass, as fish, turtles, 
ducks, snakes, etc., etc., are known to devour great quantities. 
The tadpoles' first food is the gelatinous envelope v^hich pro- 
tected the egg from which he hatched. 

Shortly afterward he will devour almost anything given 
him. It was thought for a long time that the tadpole lived 
on a vegetable diet, but it is now known that while they can 
live on vegetation exclusively, they thrive much better when 
some sort of meat is fed as well. 

The Bullfrog tndrole grows to a very large size, an I 




A GIANT BULLFROG 

often measures 4 to 6 inches, also develops four legs. 

He also has very many enemies and it is necessary that 
the pools are kept free of fish, turtles, also frogs as the bull- 
frog seems to relish his own tadpole as well as any other 
food. 

The tadpole develops into a frog during last of first sea- 
son and grows rapidly. 

Again we caution to keep fiogs only of a size together. 

Frogs fed right do remarkably well. They will not take 
meat or other dead food from the ground. Tt has to be of- 
fered in some attractive manner. 



FROG FARMING 235 

Frogs begin to burrow in August and September, and 
later bury themselves in the mud where they stay dormant, 
protected from frost, etc., all winter until spring. 

Successful frog farms and froggeries are to be found 
throughout the East, in the Middle West, also many in the 

South. California perhaps has more than any other one 
state. 

The possibilities to derive an income from the breeding 
and culture of bullfrogs are excellent and the surprising 
thing is that more have not taken it up. Perhaps the reason 
is that it has not been brought to notice. 

Should you be serious regarding a start, go into the mat- 
ter earnestly, using common horse-sense. 

As experience is the only satisfactory teacher where ani- 
mal life is concerned, it is advisable to make a small be- 
ginning which enables one to feel his way and learn as he 
goes. 



236 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

GROW MUSHROOMS AND MAKE 

MONEY 

No Special Building Necessary — Your Own House 
Cellar One of the Best Places 

MUSHROOMS are grown to perfection in cellars, stables, 
sheds, boxes, greenhouses, caves and the like. 
Many people think that mushrooms can only be 
grown in a warm, dark, damp place. This is a mistaken idea. 
Any ordinary place heated or not, where the temperature does 
not go below 32 degrees in winter, and where the bed can 
be screened so that the direct rays of the sun will not fall 
upon it, will grow large quantities of this delicacy. The bed 
should be on a dry bottom, it making no difference whether 
it is a wooden, cemented or earthen foundation. 

The beds may be on the floor, on shelves, or both, but no 
matter where they are, whether in a dwelling house, cellar 
or other place, if properly made, they emit no odor and are 
in no way offensive or unhealthful. 

First, remember that mushrooms can be grown all the 
year. There is no off season and it is never too late to start. 
Beds bear just as well no matter when started. 

During the summer or in hot climates a cellar or cave, 
cement house, or some place that can be kept moderately cool 
is to be preferred. It is necessary that the intense heat of 
the hot months should not strike the mushrooms. To over- 
come this place straw on top of the beds one foot deep and 
water the beds through the straw and they are thus kept 
cool and moist. Pick the crop by moving the straw from 
side to side with a fork. 

In a cellar, cement house or cool place there is no need 
of doing this, only in unprotected hot sheds where the hot 
sun beats directly on the roof that covers the mushrooms. 

Do not give the idea that the beginner must have an 
expensive, large or specially built establishment to make a 
profit at this business. Just the reverse. No matter where 



MUSHROOM GROWING 



237 



he is located, whether in a cold or hot climate, he has without 
doubt at hand a good place to grow mushrooms. That is the 
beauty of cultivating this crop, it requires no capital to start 
outside of purchasing the spawn and perhaps the manure, 
and a crop will pay just as big and grow just as well in a 
cellar, or old shed, stable, etc., at home as in a regularly 
equipped mushroom plant. 

A cellar is one of the best places to grow mushrooms, as 
it usually has a fairly moist atmosphere and a moderate, 
even temperature. 




-Courtesy of National Spawn & Mushroom Co. 

A HEALTHY GROWTH OF MUSHROOMS 

It can be under a dwelling house, stable, barn or shed, 
or any kind of building. It may be either light or dark. 
The beds can be made on the floor, or if more space is desired 
one or two tiers of shelves can be put up. 

The sides of both can be boarded in so as to keep the 
materials of the bed from falling out, or in the case of floor 
beds simply banked up at the sides. These beds can be made 
so as to fill up the whole cellar, leaving, of course, sufficient 
space to get in the material and allow watering and picking 
of the crop. 



238 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

The profits in the mushroom business are most satis- 
factory to the grower. As practically no capital is required 
and no special building is necessary, and as most everybody 
has some unused place suitable for their culture, they may 
be profitably grown, the field is open to all, either as a means 
of livelihood or the source of profitable recreation. They are, 
however, held back by the fact that reliable spawn and prac- 
tical instructions are hard to obtain, and those already en- 
gaged in the business refuse to open mouths or doors, either 
to give information or to allow inspection of their methods 
of cultivation. 

Some growers will not admit visitors to their plants and 
others who are willing to show their beds to callers seeking 
information but deliberately give false answers to questions 
regarding culture. What is the result? The mushroom in- 
dustry records another failure from the person thus falsely 
informed, and the unsuccessful grower in many cases starts 
out to give the business a black eye. This has happened not 
once but many times. It is simply a question of having the 
right facts and materials and applying them in the proper 
way that begets success. 

The prOiit of growing may be estimated from the fol- 
lowing: 

Beds will yield from one to two pounds of mushooms to 
the square foot. The crop will last from two to five months, 
oftentimes seven and nine, months. As fast as a bed is 
through bearing it is immediately femade. Beds should be 
started at intervals of a month or so in order to keep a 
crop coming continuously. 

Suppose for instance for a first trial a bed of 100 square 
feet is prepared and spawned. This amount of spawn will 
cost about $3.75. The horse dressing needed for a bed of 
this size will cost you at most only $4.50 delivered. In many 
places you can get it free for the asking, if you will take it 
away. From the bed we will estimate that 100 pounds of 
mushrooms are gathered. This Vv^ould be but one pound to 
the square foot of bed and is extremely conservative. A good 
bed rightly made should yield 2 pounds of mushrooms to the 
square foot, or 200 pounds from a bed of 100 square feet. 
The average selling price is around or between 50 cents and 
75 cents a pound. At certain seasons of the year they will 



MUSHROOM GROWING 



23^ 



sell for $1.00 and $1.25 a pound. (The average price we 
get for our mushrooms by the year is $1.00 a pound.) We 
will infer that the low price of 50 cents a pound is paid you, 
viz., 100 pounds of mushrooms at 50 cents a pound is $50.00, 
less cost of spawn, $3.75, and manure, $4.50 (manure may 
have cost you nothing), which amounts to $8.25, leiving a 
net profit of $41.75. 









• #• ■ ' *.,.! .'. " lit.** »r:.,Jti ♦■ ^Hiffi 



,.,^ir% ^"^'-yk. 






.MftA^ . *;j|^ 



' *«»...•* 



'4h 



.*% . lij:,.*' 



-Courtesy of National Spawn «fe Mushroom Co. 

A REMARKABLE BED OF MUSHROOMS 

Mind you we are figuring only on 100 pounds from the 
bed, sold at the low price of 50 cents. Should you get 200 
pounds of mushrooms from the bed and sell them for 75 cents 
a pound, your profit would be $100 or $141.75 net. Figure on 
the smaller profit, however, and you will be pleasantly dis- 
appointed if you make more. A bed 10 feet long by 10 feet 
wide containing 100 square feet is a small bed, compara- 
tively speaking. If you have space that will accommodate 
larger beds your profits will be larger in proportion. 

Do not start too small a bed if you have plenty of space 
as the heat of the dressing holds better in a bed of a fair 
size than in a small one and results are more satisfactory. 

The mushroom industry is not crowded and the supply 
cannot equal the demand for many years. 



240 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

Remember this is an occupation that can be readily un- 
dertaken by eitlier sex. 

Women and children can grow mushrooms as easily as 
flowers and plants and besides the business will yield a 
handsome profit for time expended. The bed could be made 
by sonle male member of the family and after that they could do 
all the work themselves. If there, however, is no one to do 
this, a man could be hired at small expense as the opera- 
tion only consists of watering and heaping the horse dress- 
ing and putting it in the bed. After that, it is nothing hard 
or dirty to do. 

No lady in the land would hesitate to pick mushrooms 
in the open field. How much less then, should she hesitate 
to gather the fresh mushrooms from the clean beds in her 
own cellar. 

Many people are content to plod along in the same old 
rut and dislike to undertake anything new. They wait and 
keep putting off and finally when they awake the chance is 
gone. You know the old adage, "Fortune knocks but once at 
each man's door." This may be your opportunity. Don't let 
it go by. 

One man in a suburb of Boston sold a three months' 
crop for $1,100, and made extensive additions to his plant. 
Another grower was offered $1,200 for his crop, still to come, 
but preferred to wait and increase his profits. Similar prof- 
its, only smaller, from smaller investments, occur daily, but 
pass unnoticed because unknown. This publication of the 
facts by us is for the purpose of making people acquainted 
with the wonderful possibilities of this business. 




MUSHROOM 



GINSENG CULTURE 241 

HISTORY OF GINSENG 

By Douglas E. McDowell. 

Ginseng Is a Chinese Word Meaning Man-Shaped 

THE American Ginseng i:s a plant closely related to the 
Parsley family, in which family are included the 
parsnip, carrot and celery. The American plant is a 
very near relation of the Chinese and Corean root — Panax 
Ginseng — which is so highly prized by the Chinese. The root 
has been used constantly in China for centuries, A report of 
the high estimation in which it was held in China reached 
America early in the eighteenth century. Father Jartoux, a 
missionary in China, gave a description of the plant and sent 
samples of the roots, seeds and leaves to Father Lafitau, 
who was a missionary among the Iroquois Indians in Canada, 
and who thereupon began a search for it. He soon found 
roots answering the description of those sent by his brother 
missionary, and after due time it proved to be a near relative 
of the Chinese root — Panax Ginseng. This discovery wa ; 
made near Montreal, Canada, in the year 1716. 

Soon after its discovery, the French, who then controlled 
Canada, began to gather it for export to China through their 
Indian agencies. The demand in this way created grew ao 
large that Ginseng soon became a very important article of 
export. The first shipments were very profitable to the 
traders, the roots costing 40 cents per pound in Quebec and 
selling for $10 per pound in China. At that time the Com- 
pany of the Indies controlled the trade between Canada and 
China. At first the exportation of the root was looked upon 
with so little favor that the business was given to the sail- 
ors as an extra inducement to remain in the service. The 
business, however, soon grew to such proportions and the 
profits were so great that the Company took control of it in 
1751. At this time Ginseng in Canada was worth $2.40 per 
pound, but the Company soon "boomed" the price to $10 or 
more per pound. This high price caused the Canadian hunt- 
ers to gather the root out of season, improperly to clean and 



240 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

Remember this is an occupation that can be readily un- 
dertaken by either sex. 

Women and children can grow mushrooms as easily as 
flowers and plants and besides the business will yield a 
handsome profit for time expended. The bed could be made 
by some male member of the family and after that they could do 
all the work themselves. If there, however, is no one to do 
this, a man could be hired at small expense as the opera- 
tion only consists of watering and heaping the horse dress- 
ing and putting it in the bed. After that, it is nothing hard 
or dirty to do. 

No lady in the land would hesitate to pick mushrooms 
in the open field. How much less then, should she hesitate 
to gather the fresh mushrooms from the clean beds in her 
own cellar. 

Many people are content to plod along in the same old 
rut and dislike to undertake anything new. They wait and 
keep putting off and finally when they awake the chance is 
gone. You know the old adage, "Fortune knocks but once at 
each man's door." This may be your opportunity. Don't let 
it go by. 

One man in a suburb of Boston sold a three months' 
crop for $1,100, and made extensive additions to his plant. 
Another grower was offered $1,200 for his crop, still to come, 
but preferred to wait and increase his profits. Similar prof- 
its, only smaller, from smaller investments, occur daily, but 
pass unnoticed because unknown. This publication of the 
facts by us is for the purpose of making people acquainted 
with the wonderful possibilities of this business. 




MUSHROOM 



GINSENG CULTURE 241 

HISTORY OF GINSENG 

By Douglas E. McDowell. 

Ginseng Is a Chinese Word Meaning Man-Shaped 

THE American Ginseng is a plant closely related to the 
Parsley family, in which family are included the 
parsnip, carrot and celery. The American plant is a 
very near relation of the Chinese and Corean root — Panax 
Ginseng — which is so highly prized by the Chinese. The root 
has been used constantly in China for centuries. A "report of 
the high estimation in which it was held in China reached 
America early in the eighteenth century. Father Jartoux, a 
missionary in China, gave a description of the plant and sent 
samples of the roots, seeds and leaves to Father Lafitau, 
who was a missionary among the Iroquois Indians in Canada, 
and who thereupon began a search for it. He soon found 
roots answering the description of those sent by his brother 
missionary, and after due time it proved to be a near relative 
of the Chinese root — Panax Ginseng. This discovery wa^ 
made near Montreal, Canada, in the year 1716. 

Soon after its discovery, the French, who then controlled 
Canada, began to gather it for export to China through their 
Indian agencies. The demand in this way created grew so 
large that Ginseng soon became a very important article of 
export. The first shipments were very profitable to the 
traders, the roots costing 40 cents per pound in Quebec and 
selling for $10 per pound in China. At that time the Com- 
pany of the Indies controlled the trade between Canada and 
China. At first the exportation of the root was looked upon 
with so little favor that the business was given to the sail- 
ors as an extra inducement to remain in the service. The 
business, however, soon grew to such proportions and the 
profits were so great that the Company took control of it in 
1751. At this time Ginseng in Canada was worth $2.40 per 
pound, but the Company soon "boomed" the price to $10 or 
more per pound. This high price caused the Canadian hunt- 
ers to gather the root out of season, improperly to clean and 



242 



OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 



dry it and doubtless to adulterate it with other and similar 
roots. A large lot of this inferior root was shipped to China. 
The Chinese refused to purchase it at any price. A few 
shipments of inferior roots soon lost the Chinese trade and 
ruined the reputation of American Ginseng. This occurred 
in 1754, and for several years thereafter the Ginseng trade 
from America entirely ceased. 

Its Propagation 

Ginseng is propagated by its seed. In a few cases roots 
have branches, sometimes three or four roots springing from 





(Human I'orin) 
— Courtesy Douglas E. McDoweH FIG. No. 2 

one root-stalk. These may be cut off clo ^e to the stalk an 1 
each root will make a separate plant. Very few roots may 
be secured in this way,however. The grower must depend 
upon the seed for its extension. The seeds do not germinate 
for eighteen months. For instance, seeds gathered and 
planted in the autumn of 1922 will not come up until the 
spring of 1923. Regular Ginseng growers, as a rule, plant 
the seeds when gathered. They plant the seed while it is 
still In the berry, before the pulp in the berry has decayed. 
If for any reason the grower does not desire to plant the 
seed when gathered, they are placed in moist earth or sand 
in a box in a cellar, or the box is buried in the ground. 
Seed so kept one year and planted in the fall will germinate 



GINSENG CULTURE 24:^ 

the following spring. Or they may be kept eighteen months 
and planted in the early spring, in which event they will 
come up the same spring they are planted. Seed kept in moist 
earth, for want of a better name, are called "stratified" seed. 

Natural Home of the Plant 

The natural home of Ginseng is in the wilds of the for- 
est. Those who commence the cultivation of the mysterious 
root should always bear this in mind, and make the environ- 
ments of the garden as near like the primeval forest as pos- 
sible. In other words, make the surroundings shady and 
cool and the soil rich. In its wild state it thrives best in 
the rich, moist, but well-drained soil in which the oak, hick 
ory, beech, maple, basswood and similar timber thrive, but 
will not grow in low, wet, marshy soil. Forest soil in which 
there is a wealth of leaf mould and has a fairly light texture 
is the kind of soil for Ginseng. However, the character or" 
the soil need not deter the beginner, for any soil can be easily 
and cheaply made as rich as any forest. In the absence ot 
leaf-mould, well-rotted horse manure does as well. In the 
absence of these fertilizers get some of the rich dirt arounJ 
the base of an old straw stack. In other words, if the 
reader intends to grow Ginseng, let him make the soil rich. 
A garden that will produce vegetables will produce Ginseng. 
Go iuto the woods where the May-apple thrives and study 
conditions there. 

Ginseng in the United States 
About the time Ginseng was commanding such a high 
price in Canada, the Yankee, never to be outdone, made dis- 
coveries of the root in the American Colonies, first in the 
western part of New England generally, afterwards in New 
York, Massachusetts, and indeed in all the colonies. These 
discoveries were made prior to the American Revolution and 
the price at that time was about 25 cents per pound. 

As the population moved west. Ginseng was found in the 
timber sections of all the states east of the Rocky Mountains. 
It may still be found wild in small quantities in all these 
states. Whether Ginseng has ever been found wild west of 
the Rocky Mountains the writer is not informed. It is, how- 
ever, being cultivated successfully in that section. 



244 



OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 



Description — Botany 

When the Ginseng phmt is old enough to produce fruit 
(seed berries) it is quite conspicuous in the forest, especially 
about the month of August, on account of the cluster of red 
berries at the forks of the stem. Until the plants are three 
years old they are small and not conspicuous. In the State 
of Missouri (later of course further north and a little earlier 




— Courtesy of Douglas E. McDowell 

FIG. 1— FRESH ROOTS OF GINSENG FROM CULTIVATED PLANT. 

(a), ONE YEAR OLD; (b), TWO YEARS OLD; (c), THREE 

YEARS OLD; (d). FOUR YEARS OLD; (e), BUD; 

(f), LEAF SCAR. 

farther south) the seedlings appear about the first of May, 
some years earlier and some later, the time depending upon 
the season. When they first come up they resemble newly 
sprouted beans on account of having one little leaf-st-em and 
three leaves. The first year the plant attains a height of 



GINSENG CULTURE 245 

about two and one-half to three inches. The work of the 
plant the first year seems to be to develop the bud at the 
top of the root which produces the next season's stem and 
leaves. In the autumn, usually after the first frost, some- 
times before, the stem dies and breaks off, leaving a scar on 
the root, at the side of which is a single bud. The spring 
of the second year this bud produces a single straight stem 
which has two to three leaf -stems on it and three leaves to a 
stem. The second year the plant rises 4 to 5 inches from the 
ground. The third year ten or fifteen leaves are usually 
put out and the plant grows from 6 to 9 inches high. After 
the third year the plant may produce from four to seven leaf- 
stems with twenty to twenty-five or more leaves. They grow 
from 10 to 24 inches high. After the second year each fork 
of the leaf-stem has five leaves. From this regular number 
of leaves the plant derives its botanical name — quinque folia. 

The Seed 

The third year and each year thereafter, at the point 
where the leaf-stalks meet, the stem is continued straight 
up, and at the end of it, late in June or early in July, is a 
small cluster of yellowish-green flowers. These flowers soon 
turn into little green berries about the size of a small pea 
(Fig. 2). There are from 15 to 80 berries in a cluster. In 
August these berries turn a bright red. In September they 
begin to fall off, and should then be gathered, for the berries 
contain the seeds. A part of the berries contain two seeds, 
and a few three seeds; the others contain but one. Some- 
times plants will bear the seeds the second year, but such 
plants are rare. The third year they produce a good crop 
and continue to .do so for years. 

The Roots 

The part of the Ginseng plant which is of commercial 
value is the root. The root is composed of two parts, the 
root-stalk and the root proper. The former is a slender, 
rough, usually crooked stem, running from the root to the 
leaf-stem. It is of no commercial value. It is full of scars. 
Each scar indicates one year's growth. There are roots now 
on exhibition with sixty-four scars on the root-stalk. The 
size of a root does not indicate its age, for after several years' 
growth the root seems to shrivel up and get smaller. The 



246 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

writer has seen Ginseng roots a quarter of a century old not 
more than one-third of an inch in diameter, others five years 
old an inch in diameter and weighing several ounces dried. 
Sometimes new roots form on the root-stalk of an old one and 
thrive as well as seedlings, while the old one dies and sloughs 
off. 

The Ginseng root is spindle-shaped, simple and almost 
straight at first, but when three or more years old usually 
branches. Its size is from i inch to nearly 2 inches in 
diameter and from 2| to 8 inches long, the size depending 
upon the food it lives on and the care in its cultivation. Its 
color is a light yellow. 

The Profits 

Ginseng is the most valuable and profitable crop in the 
world. More money can be made from a few square rods of 
ground than from the average farm, and with one-tenth of 
the labor. As a safe estimate, 1,000 roots will grow on one 
square rod of ground, which makes 160,000 to the acre. Some 
growers claim as many as 200,000 and even more to the acre, 
but the writer's experience shows 160,000 to be about right. 
Setting the roots 6 inches apart in rows, making due allow- 
ance for paths between the beds, an acre will be found to 
contain about 160,000 roots. 

One square rod of ground produces 1,000 roots, set 6 
inches apart each way, allowing for walks between the beds. 
Estimating ten roots to the pound (at the age of five years) 
gives 100 pounds; when dried 33 1-3 pounds. At $6.00 per 
pound, it makes $200. While making the five years' growth, 
the roots would produce 200,000 seeds, or at present whole- 
sale prices, $500.00 worth of seeds. But, leaving the seeds 
out of the count, for one square rod of Ginseng five years 
old, we have $200.00; or for an acre we have $32,000. This 
estimate looks unreasonable and most people will not believe 
it, but it Is a conservative estimate, nevertheless. 

There are many ways to make money in giving Ginseng 
a trial on a small space which will grow into a valuable crop 
in a few years. 



GOLDEN SEAL 247 

GOLDEN SEAL 

Grown in America and Consumed in America 

GOLDEN SEAL is a perennial plant, the same as Gin- 
seng. It is known by a dozen different names, but the 
most common ones are as follows: Golden Seal, yel- 
low root, yellow puccon, orange root, Indian dye, curcuma, 
wild tumeric, jaundice root and ground raspberry. The med- 
ical name is Hydrastis. 

The plant is found wild in nearly all the timbered parts 
of the United States east of the Missouri River, and in On- 
tario and Quebec, Canada. Like Ginseng, it has rapidly faded 
away from most parts of the country, as the timber was cut 
down, for, like Ginseng again, it grows in the shade. 

The plant grows about a foot high, and has two leaves 
(in rare cases three). Each leaf has from five to seven lobes, 
and the lobes are sharply and usually unevenly toothed. The 
leaves on a good healthy plant are from 6 to 8 inches in 
diameter. It comes out very early in the spring, but it 
takes a month or more for the leaves to expand and come true 
to the above description. For this reason it takes an ex- 
perienced person to locate the plant in the woods in the early 
spring. About the time the leaves are fully expanded the 
plant blooms, but very few ever see the bloom, for it lasts but 
two or four days. The bloom or yellowish flower turns into 
a berry-like head and in July and August turns a bright red, 
resembling a large raspberry. This is why the plant got the 
name of ground raspberry. Unless the season is a wet one 
the plant dies down sooner than other vegetation. 

The root is the part used in medicine, always being pre- 
scribed as Hydrastis. The full-grown root is a bright yel- 
low, the inside being the brightest of lemon color and the 
outside darker. A matured root is 11 to 2h inches long and 
i to 'i of an inch in diameter. Each root has dozens of lit- 
tle rootlets or fibrous roots. When broken, the fresh root 
gives off a rank, nauseating odor. It is crooked, knotty and 
wrinkled. On the upper part of the root are several depres- 
sions, left by former annual stems, which resemble the im- 
print of a seal, hence the name Golden Seal. 



248 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 

Golden Seal is propagated in three ways: (1) by seeds; 
(2) by the division of the large roots, and (3) by suckers 
or small roots which form on the largest fibrous roots. The 
seeds are gathered when ripe and treated the same as Gin- 
seng seeds. They germinate the first spring. The best way 
to succeed with Golden Seal seed is to plant them as soon 
as they are gathered. The truth is that very few people suc- 
ceed in getting results from Golden Seal seeds. 

The second method is the really sure and successful one 
of propagating Golden Seal, namely: by a division of the 
roots. This is done by taking a large root and cutting it 
into pieces about one-third of an inch long. Do this in the 
fall. Put these pieces in a box with rich, moist earth, place 
the box in a cellar or other place where it will not freeze, 
keeping it moist, but not wet, and in the spring each piece 
of root will have a nice bud on it, ready to grow when set 
out. In the third method the little roots which form on the 
fibrous roots send up a plant. These plants are dug up and 
zet out into regular beds. 

Golden Seal needs a rich, loose and moist soil, but well 
drained, and a bed of it should be mulched. Indeed, it is 
grown under the conditions as Ginseng, but will thrive under 
less shade. About half the sun should be excluded from a 
Golden Seal garden, though it does all right in a denser 
shade. In truth, the writer grows his Golden Seal right in- 
side the Ginseng gardens under exactly the same conditions 
as Ginseng. 

The production of Golden Seal is about the same as Gin- 
seng — about 5,000 pounds of dry root to the acre — but it ma- 
tures a year or two sooner. Most growers claim that the 
time to dig it for the dry root market is at the age of three 
years. The writer's experience is four years. It does not 
increase in size much after the fourth year, and after that it 
deteriorates. 

Twelve years ago the price of Golden Seal was about 40 
cents per pound. It has gradually gone up until now it is in 
good demand at $4.75 per pound. It is used as a medicine 
principally in the United States and Canada. Any physician 
can tell you its uses. 



ADVERTISEMENTS 249 



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250 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 



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ADVERTISEMENTS 251 



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252 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 



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254 OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 



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256 



OUTDOOR OPPORTUNITIES 



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Trade Journals 




and FOOD and FUR NONTHLY 

will bring- you during the year many articles, success 
pointers and plans for your small-animal bvisiness 
that will prove valuable to you in experience and dol- 
lars. You will read from month to month all the 
latest happenings in the Rabbit and Small-Animal 
World. You'll read about helpful hints on Practical 
Raising and Care of Stock, Feeding, Buying and Sell- 
ing, Marketing of Rabbits, Cavies, Goats, Mink, 
Skunk, Fox and other fur-bearing animals, etc. 

The Outdoor Enterprises' Way Makes It 
Easy for You 



1 2 hiQ issues- 
50 



-one whole year 
cents 



RABBITCRAFT 

America's newsiest rabbit and cavy publication. We 
have some of the best informed men in the industry 
on our staff of contributors and "Rabbitcraft" will 
continue to lead in the amount and quality of author- 
itative information it prints that is of vital impor- 
tance to the rabbit, cavy and small stock breeder. 

Yearly subscription 50 cents 

Both Magazines, Each for One Year, 
75 Cents Only 

Mail Your Subscriptions Today 

Outdoor Enterprise Pub. Co. 



Dept. W.B. 



KANSAS CITY, MO. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



002 835 313 3 



